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...
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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...
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On behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am delighted to congratulate our very own Member, Representative Cedric Richmond, on his historic appointment to serve in the Biden Administration. As the Director of Public Engagement and Senior Advisor to President-Elect Joe Biden, Rep. Richmond will be the most senior African-American serving in the incoming administration. This appointment is a clear recognition of both the critical role Rep. Richmond played in the Biden Campaign as national co-...
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Congratulations to President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris on your historic victory today. You fought for the soul of America. Today marks a new dawn in our country and the beginning of our journey on the road to repair after four long years of repressive policies towards communities of color. The Congressional Black Caucus is proud of our very own, Sen. Kamala Harris who will be the first woman Vice President and the first Black and South Asian Vice-President. Vice Pres...
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Judge Barrett’s disregard for precedent poses a considerable danger to the legitimacy of the Court and particularly to African Americans, who disproportionately rely on judicial precedents, such as those upholding the Affordable Care Act. Senate Republicans chose to prioritize voting on a Supreme Court nomination instead of voting on COVID-19 relief for the American people, disregarding the urgency of this relief for communities that have been hit the hardest due to the pandemic. “As an attorney...
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Yesterday, 27 year old Walter Wallace, Jr. was killed by a Philadelphia police officer in front of his home and in front of his mother. His young children are now without a father. The Congressional Black Caucus calls for an immediate independent investigation into the shooting but also for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to take up the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act for an immediate vote. He has had more than enough time to take this transformative policing reform bill up fo...
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Today, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass sent a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state sanctioned violence against peaceful non-violent protesters in Nigeria and calling for dialogue with the CBC and the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Sylvanus Nsofor. In the letter, the Congressional Black Caucus expressed particular concern with the documented force used by the Nigerian police and military, which has resulted in the loss of lives and injury of do...
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Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, sent a letter to Mr. Tony H. Pham, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director, demanding that ICE stop its plans to deport over 200 Cameroonian asylum seekers today and the hundreds of others in various ICE facilities throughout the country without a thorough investigation. Recent allegations have been raised that the Cameroonian...
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In July, the IRS determined that incarcerated Americans were not entitled to economic impact payments (EIPs). This position is inconsistent with the CARES Act, unfairly harms the incarcerated, and disproportionately discriminates against African Americans. At the notice of this directive by the IRS, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to the Mr. Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner of the IRS, and called for the reversal of this guidance because it is unlawful and discriminatory to exclude i...
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The President’s abuse of power knows no end. It has been reported that the food boxes distributed by the Farmers to Families Food Box (FFFB) Program now includes a signed letter by President Trump. Using a federal relief program to distribute a self-promoting letter from the President to American families in the months leading up to the presidential election is inappropriate and a violation of federal law. The Hatch Act prohibits executive branch employees from using their official authority or ...
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