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.
I am extremely disappointed that Senate Republicans blocked ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today. Its ratification would enable the United States to play a leading role in helping other nations set policies that expand opportunities for their own citizens with disabilities. Modeled after the bipartisan Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities represents a major step forward for individuals throughout the world living with disabilities and hoping for increased accessibility, equal opportunity, and greater independence. I was proud to have worked with former Rep. Tony Coelho and others, including former Republican Sen. Majority Leader Bob Dole, to pass the original Americans with Disabilities Act, and I strongly urge Senate Republicans to reconsider today’s vote and allow this treaty’s ratification.
Today, the full Senate is considering the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a landmark treaty that will strengthen the rights and freedoms of individuals with disabilities throughout the world – and which was reported favorably by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July. The Disabilities Convention draws heavily on the Americans with Disabilities Act, which Congress passed in 1990 with broad bipartisan support, and the Convention has already been championed by an array of leaders from both parties. Its ratification will send a strong message that the United States is committed to the human rights, equal opportunity, and full inclusion of all who live with disabilities in our country and every other. I was proud to have helped lead the effort, along with former Rep. Tony Coelho and others, to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I join in calling on the Senate to agree to the Convention’s swift ratification.
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional:
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the Committee on House Administration issued a report detailing the nearly $1.5 million in taxpayer-funded legal bills accumulated over the past 15 months to pay an outside law firm to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA):
“I join in marking the one-year anniversary of the end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and the beginning of a new era of strength through inclusion for our military. I was proud to help lead the successful repeal effort that finally ended that discriminatory policy. Doing so opened doors for LGBT Americans wishing to join our armed forces and ended the fearful prospect of discharge for those who were already serving.
“I join in marking the twenty-second anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. I was incredibly proud to lead the effort in Congress to pass this landmark legislation and see it signed into law. Since 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act has enabled more than 50 million people with disabilities to participate more fully and more equally in our society.
“Forty years ago tomorrow, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was enacted to remove barriers to equal opportunity in education and school athletics. This was a milestone that enabled the achievements of the tens of millions of American women who have since participated in the full range of educational and athletic opportunities this country has to offer.
Today, Republicans choose once again to obstruct instead of make meaningful progress on an issue important to millions of American families. By blocking the Paycheck Fairness Act, Senate Republicans followed their House colleagues, who unanimously rejected its consideration on the Floor last week.
For LGBT Americans and their families, this year’s Pride Month comes at a particularly hopeful moment for LGBT equality in America. From support for same-sex marriage growing across the country, to this week’s federal circuit court ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, to the end of the military’s discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy last year, there is a real and tangible sense that our nation is moving closer to full equality.
I believe today’s decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a previous ruling that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional was correct. By preventing the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages – even in states where those unions are legal – DOMA denies these families the same federal rights and benefits available to others. Today’s decision is a victory for the basic tenet of equality for all.