Racial Equity & Equal Justice for All
Americans were horrified in the summer of 2020 at the unjust killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans during encounters with police. These tragedies highlighted the deep-seated injustices that have long affected Black Americans and the denial of equal justice for all. Not only is our criminal justice system inequitable, but racial disparities continue to exist in many aspects of American life and our economy, including income, wealth distribution, housing, health care, and access to higher education. For too long this country has ignored the need to engage in real, serious policymaking focused on eliminating these disparities and ensuring that every American has an equal shot at “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Democrats are continuing to make equity and reducing disparities a focus of our legislative and economic agenda. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes equitable investments to address long-ignored disparities that prevent underserved communities from reaching their full economic potential. These include expanding access to broadband for 42 million Americans who currently lack reliable Internet access, funding upgrades to our water infrastructure to ensure Americans have clean drinking water, addressing legacy pollution, and expanding reliable public transit to underserved communities. During the 117th Congress, history was made when the Emmett Till Antilynching Act was passed and signed into law. This long-overdue law designates lynching as a hate crime under federal law, ensuring the full force of the government is brought to prosecute these monstrous crimes that have terrorized the Black community for over a century. House Democrats also passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in 2020 to root out racial biases in police departments and ban practices such as chokeholds and no-knock warrants. In the 118th Congress, Democrats will continue to we work with the Biden Administration to make equal justice, racial equity, and opportunity a reality for all Americans.
Today the Congress came together in a spirit of bipartisanship to honor those who marched for voting rights in Selma fifty years ago.
I rise in strong support of this bill of which I am a co-sponsor, honoring the brave men and women who marched in Selma.
Twenty-five years ago, Nelson Mandela took his first steps into freedom from captivity on Robben Island, where he had been held as a political prisoner for eighteen of his twenty-seven years behind bars.
We mark Black History Month this year by celebrating the legacy of the thousands who braved violence and intimidation a half-century ago when they stood up for the equal right to vote.
Mitchell Rivard scanned through the House Members' Handbook in 2013, proofreading as he went, when a line gave him pause: Personnel decisions must be free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, and more. Nowhere did it mention sexual orientation or gender identity.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and a few of his Democratic colleagues are urging other members of Congress to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers in their office anti-discrimination policies.
This evening, President Obama laid out a vision of an America that prioritizes a strong and growing middle class.
My heart goes out to the family of Eric Garner, who continue to seek justice for his tragic death on July 17.
One year ago today, the United States Senate passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act by a strong bipartisan vote of 64-32.
As Thomas Jefferson, and those who wrote with him said, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.’ What we have found throughout history is, it may be self-evident, but it is not self-executed. That is why this legislation is necessary.