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Oppose H.R. 1: the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" - PASSED SENATE - SENT BACK TO HOUSE (UPDATED 7/1)
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Defend Medicare and Medicaid from Cuts in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 7/1)
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Block Planned Parenthood Defunding in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 7/1)
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Block Increase for ICE and Mass Deportation in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 7/1)
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Defend Higher Education from Attacks in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 7/1)
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Fight Hunger and Defend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (UPDATED 7/1)
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Stop the Defunding of Our Public Schools: Oppose ECCA in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 7/1)
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Block the $1T Pentagon Budget and Musk Handout in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 7/1)
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Oppose Cuts to Clean Energy Programs and Climate Protections in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 7/1)
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Oppose Limits on Court Rulings in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act - Removed from Bill (UPDATED 7/1)
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Oppose Cuts to Gender-Affirming Healthcare in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act - Removed from Bill (UPDATED 7/1)
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Stop State AI Regulation Ban in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act - Removed from Bill (UPDATED 7/1)
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Oppose the Sale of Public Lands in the Budget Reconciliation Bill - Removed from Bill (UPDATED 6/29)
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Support H.R. 40: Commission to Develop Reparations Proposals

This content is archived from the 116th Congress (2019-2020) and is no longer callable, we've provided this copy to remember the topics that you've called on during prevous Congressional sessions. Head back to the front page to see current topics to call on.

On June 19th, the House held a hearing on H.R.40, a bill that would launch a commission to study how the government can most effectively pay reparations to African-Americans to mitigate the ongoing damage from racist federal policies. The racial wealth gap is enormous - black Americans hold only 3% of the nation’s wealth despite being 12-13% of the population, the median wealth of black families is less than 10% of white families, and over 25% of black families have zero or negative net worth.

The federal government is responsible for many drivers of this wealth gap, including but not limited to keeping slavery legal until the end of the Civil War, discriminatory housing policies (red-lining so federally-supported mortgages were not available in black neighborhoods), interstate highway design that drove “white flight” and subsequent ghettoization of black neighborhoods in the inner cities, and less funding for predominantly black schools.

This commission would examine the federal government’s responsibility for the ongoing impacts of slavery and racially discriminatory federal policies, and propose financial compensation-based solutions, i.e., reparations. Representatives need to hear from their constituents that we have a responsibility as Americans to examine the impacts of our racist federal policies (past and present), and proactively attempt to repair the damage.