CONYERS: CBC Foundation Legislative Conference On Jobs

Jobs, Justice, Peace

Conyers speaks on Martin Luther King, Jr., how Coretta Scott King continued his work in jobs initiatives and how the Federal Reserve needs to create jobs.

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CONYERS & SANDERS Town Hall In Detroit On Jobs, Health Care & The Future

Rep. Conyers invited U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to join in on the discussion. Topics included healthcare, creating good paying jobs, raising wages and building an economy that gives every American the tools to succeed in the 21^st century.

Learn more: BEVERLY TRAN: CONYERS To Host Town Hall Meeting On Jobs & Health Care With Bernie Sanders 8-22-2017 http://beverlytran.blogspot.com/2017/08/conyers-to-host-town-hall-meeting-on.html#ixzz4qXHVohmZ

John Conyers

Bernie Sanders

Michigan Senator
Coleman Young, III

Michigan Democratic Party Chair,
Brandon Dillion

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CONYERS renews call for end to racial profiling

Washington — U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. is seizing on the new film “Detroit” and the 50th anniversary of the city’s uprising to renew his call for greater accountability and training for police in an push to end racial profiling.

Conyers, portrayed in the film by actor Laz Alonso, convened a discussion Thursday evening at the U.S. Capitol with “Detroit” director Kathryn Bigelow, Alonso and others to discuss these issues and screen the movie for members of Congress, their staffs and guests.

“As we have seen from police-involved shooting incidents and Department of Justice investigations around the country, 1967 Detroit is being repeated every year still,” Conyers said.

“For this reason, I continue to pursue improving police relationships and accountability and criminal justice reform here in Congress.”

Conyers has introduced a bill to prohibit racial profiling in every Congress since 2001. It would require retraining of law-enforcement officers on how to discontinue racial profiling and would mandate data collection.

The film focuses on the incident at the Algiers Motel, set against the backdrop of the 1967 Detroit uprising – also called the 12th Street Riot.

The Algiers incident involved three black men who died during an interrogation by police officers. The officers tried for the deaths were found not guilty. Observers have drawn parallels to the recent deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Philando Castile, who were also killed by police.

Bigelow said the movie came about in the wake of Brown’s shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, when her screenwriter brought her the story of the 1967 Algiers incident.

“As I was listening to the story, I found myself thinking it didn’t feel like 50 years ago,” Bigelow said. “I thought we would benefit from seeing this story. It’s a very tragic one – an American tragedy – but in a perfect would it might stimulate a conversation.”

As the riots grew in 1967, Conyers went into the streets and tried to quell the community’s rage, directing it to more “proactive organization,” he said.

The film recreates the scene of Conyers grasping a bullhorn atop a car in the middle of the crowd, urging his neighbors and constituents to stop the destruction.

“What I felt more than anything, in the rebellion scene, was the need to be heard. Everyone needed to be heard. The citizens of Detroit were not being heard,” Alonso said.

“When Representative Conyers went up to talk to these people, he needed to be heard. …

Unfortunately, at that moment in time, the bubble had burst, and there was no listening. It was all action. All the frustrations that had built up for so long.”

Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence was a young girl on the east side of Detroit during the riots. She recalls her grandmother’s anxiety and television images of military tanks rolling down city streets.

In an interview, she stressed the need for community leaders around the country to provide ongoing training for police.

“We are held responsible – us in government – for the training and the accountability of our police. This movie shows where some of the failures happened,” said Lawrence, the former mayor of Southfield.

“It’s an opportunity for us to step back and say, if we don’t train, or have better accountability in collecting data, we could be right where we were. Ferguson happened just recently. I’m hoping the outcome of this film will be that it will create a sense of urgency for our local governments to train and invest in our police officers.”

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/27/rep-john-conyers-renews-call-end-racial-profiling/104062548/

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CONYERS Weekly CBC Message To America: Understanding The Roots Of Crime & Poverty

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. addresses the deeply rooted issues of crime and persistent poverty in urban communities from a criminal justice perspective. Rep. Conyers serves as the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee and serves as the Dean (longest serving Member) of the House of Representatives.

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CONYERS Weekly CBC Message To America: Understanding The Roots Of Crime & Poverty

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. addresses the deeply rooted issues of crime and persistent poverty in urban communities from a criminal justice perspective. Rep. Conyers serves as the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee and serves as the Dean (longest serving Member) of the House of Representatives.

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CONYERS & SANDERS Announces Introduction Of The Employ Young Americans Now Act

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) held a roundtable discussion at a Sasha Bruce Youthwork center and announced the introduction of the Employ Young Americans Now Act—which would provide $5.5 billion in immediate funding to employ one million young Americans.







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CONYERS: Heartless Trump Budget Hurts Nation's Most Vulnerable And Undermines Access To Justice

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), today released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2018 budget:

Dean of the U.S, House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“There is no doubt that President Trump’s budget starves many essential government programs across the board.  These proposed cuts threaten to undermine the Justice Department’s critical public safety efforts and jeopardize essential community-based justice programs,” said Conyers. 

Guts Legal Services Program for America’s Most Vulnerable:

Conyers continued, “The Trump Budget effectively eliminates the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a program that for more than 40 years, with bipartisan support, has provided civil legal representation of hundreds of thousands of Americans in every county in every state and the territories.  By cutting all LSC funding, the Trump Budget would harm America's most vulnerable: seniors victimized by consumer fraud scams, families facing foreclosure and eviction, women trying to escape domestic abuse, and veterans seeking promised benefits.  Last year alone, LSC grantees helped nearly 100,000 veterans and their family members nationwide.  Rather than address the enormous gap between the number of people who need legal services and the resources currently available to LSC to meet their needs, the Trump budget instead guts this critical program, which is particularly needed in rural communities where 20% of the Nation’s population resides in rural areas, but only 2% of lawyers serve these communities.”

Strips Funding from National Instant Criminal Background Check Improvement Program:

“After the Virginia Tech mass shooting in 2007, Congress passed the NICS Improvement Amendments Act, a bipartisan measure to require and fund the addition of qualifying mental health information into the background check system,” said Conyers.  “The Trump budget reduces funding for this effort. We must maintain our commitment to making sure this system is as comprehensive as possible to reduce the chances that guns are sold in error to people who are legally prohibited from possessing them.”

Harms Crime Prevention Efforts:

Conyers continued, “The Trump budget severely underfunds programs that help the formerly incarcerated get back on their feet. At a time when we must focus our efforts on programs that actually work to reduce crime, we must not back away from funding critical programs under the Second Chance Act that help prisoners successfully transition back to their communities and thereby reduce recidivism.” 

Americans Foot the Bill for Trump’s Border Wall:

“This budget funds a militarized police force which has the potential to expose Americans to greater racial profiling and additional interrogations at the border. With this budget, Americans will foot the bill for Trump’s un-American border wall,” Conyers concluded.

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CONYERS & SCOTT Introduce Bill to Address Racial Inequities in Public Education

WASHINGTON – TODAY, Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) introduced the Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act (EIEA). This legislation would empower parents and communities to address – through robust enforcement – racial inequities, including inequities in access to educational resources, in public education.

Today marks the 63^rd anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, which struck down lawful school segregation and affirmed that education was a right that “must be made available to all on equal terms.” Last year on the anniversary of Brown, Ranking Members Scott and Conyers unveiled the findings of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which found that our nation’s schools are, in fact, re-segregating by race and class.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Though the Nation can celebrate the progress made over the course of the last 63 years after the Brown v. Board decision, we should acknowledge the long path ahead of us in the battle toward equal education,” said Ranking Member Conyers. “Last year’s GAO report confirmed our fears -- that many of our schools are re-segregating at alarming rates. On this landmark occasion, I’m proud to join Rep. Scott in introducing the Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act, legislation that will help us on our path to providing equal educational opportunities for all students.”

“On this anniversary of Brown, we are reminded that we have a long way to go to achieve educational equity for all students,” said Ranking Member Scott. “Last year’s GAO report confirmed that increasing segregation along the lines of race and poverty continue to be a driver for inequities in education. The Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act provides parents and communities with the tools necessary to ensure all children have a chance to succeed, and moves us one step closer to fulfilling the promise of Brown.”

In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, a decade after the Brown decision. Title VI of the Act mandates that federal dollars cannot subsidize or support programs or activities that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The EIEA would:

• restore a private right of action to file disparate impact claims under Title VI;
• create Title VI monitors to ensure that every school has at least one employee to specifically carry out the responsibilities of the law; and
• create an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Education to coordinate and promote Title VI enforcement of equity and inclusion in education.

Earlier today, a companion bill - the Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2017 - was introduced to support new investments in school infrastructure to help level the playing field for students in under-resourced communities. 

Organizations supporting the EIEA: NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF), Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Advancement Project, NAACP, and Teach Plus.

The Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act (EIEA): Restoring Private Right of Action to Disparate Impact Clai... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

GAO Report on Disparities and Racial Segregation in K-12 Education by Beverly Tran on Scribd

The Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS Commemorates Martin Luther King's Sermon "Beyond Vietnam"

This week, longtime civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis and more than 50 Members of Congress joined me to introduce my new resolution, H.Res. 246, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the April 4, 1967 “Beyond Vietnam” sermon given by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Riverside Church in Harlem, New York.

In the sermon, Dr. King declared his opposition to the U.S. war in Vietnam.

He also gave an important warning to our nation, one that still rings true today. Dr. King said: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

Since I recorded this message, President Trump unilaterally decided, without approval from Congress or the United Nations, to bomb a sovereign nation.

Those 59 Tomahawk missiles alone cost taxpayers more than $50 million.

I will continue do to everything in my power to stop Trump from wasting our tax money bombing people abroad, when we have so much important nation-building to do right here at home.

There is no question that the United States must do more to relieve the suffering of the civilians trapped in Syria’s civil war.

If President Trump wants to help the Syrian people, he should start by welcoming those seeking refuge from this terrible civil war. You can listen to Dr. King’s prophetic 1967 speech here:

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CONYERS: Members Hold Forum On Civil Rights Under The Trump Administration

Washington, D.C. – Today, April 6, 2017 at 10:30 AM, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives held a forum entitled, “Civil Rights Under the Trump Administration-The First 100 Days.” 

The 2016 presidential campaign was the most polarizing and divisive in memory, particularly from a civil rights perspective.  Though the Obama administration made notable legislative and enforcement gains in civil rights, with the rise in hate violence, police shootings and legislative backlash at the state and local level, minority communities have been justifiably concerned about the continuing role of the Federal government in protecting their civil rights.  This forum will examine the appointments, polices and orders undertaken in the first 100 days of the Trump administration in order to help foster an agenda for the protection of civil rights.   

WHO:            Members of Congress

·         House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)

·         House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA)

·         Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

·         House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)

·         Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC)

·         Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)

·         Rep. Hank Johnson Jr. (D-GA)

·         Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI)

·         Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA)

·         Additional Members of Congress

Panelists

·         Gavin Grimm, plaintiff in transgender rights case,G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board

·         Chief Hassan Aden, Steering Committee, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration and former Chief of Police of the Greenville Police Department

·         Catherine Lhamon, Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, former Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education

·         Ron Davis, former director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services at the Department of Justice

·         Chiraag Bains, Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School Criminal Justice Policy Program, former Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights

·         Roy Austin, former director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, Justice, and Opportunity

·         Joe Rich, Co-Director, Fair Housing & Community Development Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

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CONYERS Statement for the Hearing, “Combating Crimes against Children: Assessing the Legal Landscape,” by the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers. Jr.

Today’s hearing by this subcommittee will discuss the serious and disturbing issue of the criminal victimization of children.  With all of our efforts to fight the various forms of child exploitation, it continues to be a threat to our young people. 

However, we have developed strategies to both prevent and respond to these crimes, and to assist the many children who are victims.  I trust we will learn about the strategies that are working and how we can do better. 

In April of last year, the Department of Justice reported to us that the main threats in this area in the next five years will be:  child pornography, sextortion, child sex trafficking, sex offender registry violations, and child sex tourism.

The response to these crimes involves an intricate network of federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies, and private, nonprofit organizations and advocates, supported by direct federal funding authorizations and grant programs, all working together to keep our youngest constituents safe from harm.

Today we will hear from individuals, representing some of the entities involved in this very necessary mission.  Their roles illustrate the ways we can do more and do better. 

First, we in Congress must recognize that, while we can enact federal legislation, state and local law enforcement are on the front lines and we must support their partnerships with federal agencies.  The Internet Crimes against Children Task Force program, funded through the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, provides training and technical assistance and regularly conducts undercover online investigative operations.

Since Congress mandated creation of this program, 3,500 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies have joined to form 61 coordinated regional task forces.  These task forces are especially important now, because we are seeing a tremendous increase in crimes perpetrated against children on the Internet.

Detective Patrick Beaver, from the Loudon County Virginia Sheriff’s Office, will speak with us today about the successes his office has had working with the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to conduct an operation targeting internet predators last year.

Next, we must provide specialized assistance to families, victims, and law enforcement to help prevent child abductions, recover missing children, identify and assist victims of child pornography and child sex trafficking.  That is the mission of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and we will hear from their representative today about what they are experiencing in providing this assistance. 

As a former local and federal prosecutor, Ms. Francey Hakes will also help tell us about the challenges at the state and federal levels in fighting these crimes and enforcing our laws. 

All of this will help us as we consider legislation to amend and reauthorize important statutes such as the Adam Walsh Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.  

Clearly, we must do more to prevent and investigate these crimes – and especially assist their many victims.  When we do apprehend and convict offenders, we must recognize that most of them will be released back into society at some point.  

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is intended to establish a nationwide system of monitoring and tracking sex offenders, particularly after they are released from prison.  Currently, there are over 850,000 registered sex offenders in this country.

If we are going to have such a system, we must ensure that it is used in appropriate circumstances and in the most effective manner.  However, only 17 states are in substantial compliance with its requirements.

States, policy makers, researchers, and advocates continue to object to the requirements established by SORNA for many reasons.

One of the most pervasive criticisms of SORNA is the inclusion of juveniles on registries. Ms. Nicole Pittman is here with us today to discuss the real impact of juvenile registration – on the juveniles, their families, and the overall effectiveness of SORNA.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing on this important topic.  We all wish that child exploitation could be eradicated, but the problem persists.  With what we learn today, I hope we can work together to come closer to achieving our goal.

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CONYERS Reintroduces Signature Bill To Provide Jobs Or Training To Every Job-Seeking American

Washington, DC –Representative John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), with support from 28 Democratic Members of Congress, reintroduced H.R. 1000, the “Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act,” also known as the “Jobs for All Act.” The bill establishes a comprehensive job creation and training program that would create millions of new jobs and raise wages throughout the country. The bill, which is funded by a small tax on Wall Street speculation, would employ Americans in projects such as the renovation of housing and schools, infrastructure repair, expanding access to broadband and wireless Internet, neighborhood beautification projects, among many other community initiatives in the health and education sectors.  This direct job creation effort would be coupled with a significant increase in funding for job training programs funded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Congressman Conyers said, “H.R. 1000, the Jobs for All Act, is legislation that could put an end to joblessness in America. While any reasonable observer knows that President Obama made phenomenal progress on job creation, too many urban and rural pockets of this country continue to battle the plague of unemployment, including parts of my Detroit Congressional district. If my colleagues across the aisle are serious about creating jobs, they should pass and sign the Jobs for All Act today.”

Rep. Conyers’ bill would address lingering job shortages by providing resources for employment and training programs administered by non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and state and local governments.  H.R. 1000 prioritizes projects in those regions that have higher level of unemployment, underemployment, and non-labor force participation.

Original Congressional co-sponsors of the measure include the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus, Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Frederica Wilson (D-FL), along with Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Yvette Clark (D-NY), Elijah Cummings (D-MD, Danny Davis (D-IL), Keith Ellison (D-MN), John Garamendi (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), John Lewis (D-GA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rick Nolan (D-MN), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), José Serrano (D-NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and Marc Veasey (D-TX).

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CONYERS Speaks On The Need To Study Impact Of Slavery

As part of #BlackHistoryMonth, I spoke at briefing regarding my bill, H.R. 40, A Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. H.R. 40 is a crucial piece of legislation because it goes beyond exploring the economic implications of slavery and segregation. It is a holistic bill in the sense that it seeks to establish a commission to also examine the moral and social implications of #slavery. — at United States Capitol.

#FosterCare #Adoption #ChildWelfare 

115th CONGRESS 1st Session

H. R. 40

To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 3, 2017

Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Ms. Norton, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Ellison, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Clay, Mr. Gutiérrez, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Ms. Lee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

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A BILL

To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) Findings.—The Congress finds that—

(1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865;

(2) the institution of slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 through 1865;

(3) the slavery that flourished in the United States constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of Africans’ life, liberty, African citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of their own labor;

(4) a preponderance of scholarly, legal, community evidentiary documentation and popular culture markers constitute the basis for inquiry into the on-going effects of the institution of slavery and its legacy of persistent systemic structures of discrimination on living African-Americans and society in the United States; and

(5) following the abolition of slavery the United States Government, at the Federal, State, and local level, continued to perpetuate, condone and often profit from practices that continued to brutalize and disadvantage African-Americans, including share cropping, convict leasing, Jim Crow, redlining, unequal education, and disproportionate treatment at the hands of the criminal justice system; and

(6) as a result of the historic and continued discrimination, African-Americans continue to suffer debilitating economic, educational, and health hardships including but not limited to; having nearly 1,000,000 Black people incarcerated; an unemployment rate more than twice the current White unemployment rate; and an average of less than 1⁄16 of the wealth of White families, a disparity which has worsened, not improved over time.

(b) Purpose.—The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission to study and develop Reparation proposals for African-Americans as a result of—

(1) the institution of slavery, including both the Trans-Atlantic and the domestic “trade” which existed from 1565 in colonial Florida and from 1619 through 1865 within the other colonies that became the United States, and which included the Federal and State governments which constitutionally and statutorily supported the institution of slavery;

(2) the de jure and de facto discrimination against freed slaves and their descendants from the end of the Civil War to the present, including economic, political, educational, and social discrimination;

(3) the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the discrimination described in paragraphs (1) and (2) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States;

(4) the manner in which textual and digital instructional resources and technologies are being used to deny the inhumanity of slavery and the crime against humanity of people of African descent in the United States;

(5) the role of Northern complicity in the Southern based institution of slavery;

(6) the direct benefits to societal institutions, public and private, including higher education, corporations, religious and associational;

(7) and thus, recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission’s findings;

(8) and thus, recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6); and

(9) submit to the Congress the results of such examination, together with such recommendations.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES.

(a) Establishment.—There is established the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the “Commission”).

(b) Duties.—The Commission shall perform the following duties:

(1) Identify, compile and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery which existed within the United States and the colonies that became the United States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission’s documentation and examination shall include but not be limited to the facts related to—

(A) the capture and procurement of Africans;

(B) the transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport;

(C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce;

(D) the treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States, including the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion, and families; and

(E) the extensive denial of humanity, sexual abuse and the chatellization of persons.

(2) The role which the Federal and State governments of the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of formerly enslaved Africans and their descendents to repatriate to their homeland.

(3) The Federal and State laws that discriminated against formerly enslaved Africans and their descendents who were deemed United States citizens from 1868 to the present.

(4) The other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendents who were deemed United States citizens from 1868 to the present, including redlining, educational funding discrepancies, and predatory financial practices.

(5) The lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) on living African-Americans and on society in the United States.

(6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission’s findings.

(7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6). In making such recommendations, the Commission shall address among other issues, the following questions:

(A) How such recommendations comport with international standards of remedy for wrongs and injuries caused by the State, that include full reparations and special measures, as understood by various relevant international protocols, laws, and findings.

(B) How the Government of the United States will offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants.

(C) How Federal laws and policies that continue to disproportionately and negatively affect African-Americans as a group, and those that purpetuate the lingering effects, materially and psycho-social, can be eliminated.

(D) How the injuries resulting from matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) can be reversed and provide appropriate policies, programs, projects and recommendations for the purpose of reversing the injuries.

(E) How, in consideration of the Commission’s findings, any form of compensation to the descendants of enslaved African is calculated.

(F) What form of compensation should be awarded, through what instrumentalities and who should be eligible for such compensation.

(G) How, in consideration of the Commission’s findings, any other forms of rehabilitation or restitution to African descendants is warranted and what the form and scope of those measures should take.

(c) Report To Congress.—The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Congress not later than the date which is one year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 4(c).

SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

(a) Number And Appointment.—(1) The Commission shall be composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed, within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows:

(A) Three members shall be appointed by the President.

(B) Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(C) One member shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate.

(D) Six members shall be selected from the major civil society and reparations organizations that have historically championed the cause of reparatory justice.

(2) All members of the Commission shall be persons who are especially qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of their education, training, activism or experience, particularly in the field of African-American studies and reparatory justice.

(b) Terms.—The term of office for members shall be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect the powers of the Commission and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.

(c) First Meeting.—The President shall call the first meeting of the Commission within 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act or within 30 days after the date on which legislation is enacted making appropriations to carry out this Act, whichever date is later.

(d) Quorum.—Seven members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.

(e) Chair And Vice Chair.—The Commission shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. The term of office of each shall be for the life of the Commission.

(f) Compensation.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each member of the Commission shall receive compensation at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code, for each day, including travel time, during which he or she is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the Commission.

(2) A member of the Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of the United States or a Member of Congress shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of his or her service to the Commission.

(3) All members of the Commission shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

(a) Hearings And Sessions.—The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in the United States, and request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Commission considers appropriate. The Commission may invoke the aid of an appropriate United States district court to require, by subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production.

(b) Powers Of Subcommittees And Members.—Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is authorized to take by this section.

(c) Obtaining Official Data.—The Commission may acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government, available information which the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of the Government shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to such information and shall furnish all information requested by the Commission to the extent permitted by law.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

(a) Staff.—The Commission may, without regard to section 5311(b) of title 5, United States Code, appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers appropriate.

(b) Applicability Of Certain Civil Service Laws.—The staff of the Commission may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that the compensation of any employee of the Commission may not exceed a rate equal to the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code.

(c) Experts And Consultants.—The Commission may procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable under section 5332 of such title.

(d) Administrative Support Services.—The Commission may enter into agreements with the Administrator of General Services for procurement of financial and administrative services necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Commission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the Commission and the Administrator.

(e) Contracts.—The Commission may—

(1) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts; and

(2) enter into contracts with departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, State agencies, and private firms, institutions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts.

SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits its report to the Congress under section 3(c).

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $12,000,000.

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