Press Releases

Washington, DC – Rep. Karen Bass, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, released the following statement upon reports of the nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland (NM-01) as Secretary of the Department of Interior. “We applaud the nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, to lead the very agency responsible for the dislocation and inhumane treatment of indigenous people in America. The nomination of the first Native American to lead a cabinet-level a... Read more

Washington, DC – Rep. Karen Bass, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, released the following statement upon reports of the nomination of Brenda Mallory to serve as Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and Michael Regan to serve as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “The Congressional Black Caucus is pleased to see the priority placed on environmental justice in the Biden-Harris Administration. Our communities have long suffered the brunt of environmental de... Read more

WASHINGTON – Today, the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement after reports announced that Ambassador Susan Rice would be nominated to direct the White House Domestic Policy Council. “The Congressional Black Caucus applauds President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of Ambassador Susan Rice to run the White House Domestic Policy Council to develop, coordinate and oversee implementation of his commitment to build this country back better. “A tenacious leader and a careful diplomat... Read more

“President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris have nominated an accomplished, respected trailblazer as the next Secretary of the Department of Defense. Lloyd Austin is a trusted and crisis-tested leader who has broken barriers in his historic ascent to the highest ranks of the military,” said Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Karen Bass. “Lloyd Austin has had a decorated military career, serving more than 40 years in the Army, in which he served as Chief of the Joint Ope... Read more

Washington, D.C. – The Congressional Black Caucus released this statement following the House passage of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (FY21 NDAA). In November 2020, the Congressional Black Caucus voted unanimously to adopt a position that the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act must include a provision mandating the redesignation of Department of Defense property honoring the Confederacy within three years. We are pleased to see that language to that ef... Read more

The appointment of Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of Defense makes our country stronger and safer. He has led a distinguished career of service to this nation, most recently served as the head of the United States Central Command and vice chief of staff of the Army. He is a decorated combat veteran, having been awarded the nation’s third-highest award for valor: the Silver Star. But this is about more than an impeccable record. This appointment reverberates throughout the histor... Read more

“We celebrate the nomination of the third CBC Member to serve this country in the Biden-Harris Administration. The nomination of former CBC Chairwoman Marcia Fudge as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is an historic selection, as Congresswoman Fudge will be the first African-American woman to lead the department in decades, and only the second in our nation’s history. “For decades, Congresswoman Fudge has served the people of Ohio with passion and tenacity, first as ma... Read more

Washington, D.C. – The Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement as the 100 Days CBC Transition Task Force works with the Biden-Harris Transition Team to advance the Caucus' priorities. "The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is comprised of 57 congressional members representing a wide range of regional, ideological, and political perspectives and a depth of knowledge and experience necessary to support the establishment of the most diverse administration in the history of this nat... Read more

This week, the Congressional Black Caucus voted unanimously to adopt a position that the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act must include a provision mandating the redesignation of Department of Defense property honoring the Confederacy. The Congressional Black Caucus maintains that the renaming must be completed no later than three years. Both the House and the Senate passed bipartisan provisions to rename defense property that currently memorializes and honors the Confederacy a... Read more

Today, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Karen Bass (D-CA) and CBC Secretary Hank Johnson (D-GA) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr urging him to put an immediate stay in the upcoming scheduled federal executions of Orlando Hall (November 19), Lisa Montgomery (December 8), and Brandon Bernard (December 10). “Spikes in COVID-19 not only endanger the public, they decrease the accessibility of essential services. The ability to effectively see a client, schedule a hearing, or argue... Read more