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.
Yesterday marked the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, when more than a quarter million people came to our nation’s capital to demand equality for all Americans, regardless of race, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his landmark ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech. Armed with the power of nonviolence, their efforts helped end a system of racial discrimination. Let us mark this anniversary by honoring the legacy of these civil rights activists who pursued justice for all Americans and rededicate ourselves to equality and fairness. While we have come a long way in achieving racial equality since the March 48 years ago, disparities in employment and opportunity still exist today. Democrats are committed to closing that gap and promoting equality and opportunity through our Make It In America plan, an effort to create well-paying, middle-class jobs so that every American has the chance to succeed.
“Today, America marks Women’s Equality Day: the anniversary of the day women secured the right to vote through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment was only passed as a result of the work of generations of women, who struggled for a full and equal voice in our democracy...
Twenty-one years ago today, the first President Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act. I was proud to help write this important law and work for its passage through Congress. The ADA made our nation a world leader in the inclusion of people with disabilities, and it came about because Republicans and Democrats, disability advocates and business leaders, all realized that we gain as a nation when we help all of our people live up to their potential.
Last year, Congress voted to repeal the counterproductive and unjust policy of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ But despite overwhelming evidence that repeal will strengthen our military, despite strong support for repeal among our troops and the American people, despite support for repeal from military leaders like the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and despite a federal court order that the government stop enforcing DADT immediately, Republicans are still pushing to keep this shameful policy in place.
Nearly three years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Major General Gordon Granger arrived at the city of Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 to deliver news that the nation’s slaves were free. The announcement set off celebrations in the streets as freed slaves rejoiced. At last, the furthest reaches of the slaveholding states were feeling the effects of the abolition of slavery; and today, we celebrate that day of liberation as Juneteenth. Each year, we have the opportunity to reflect on the centuries-long struggle to achieve freedom, honor the legacy of civil rights activists who have pursued justice for all Americans, and celebrate the achievements and contributions of African-Americans throughout history. Let us pay tribute to the work and sacrifice of these Americans and recommit ourselves to ensuring freedom, equality, and opportunity for all.
On Equal Pay Day we recognize the extra amount of time a woman must work – from January 1, 2010 to April 12, 2011 – for her wages to equal what a man could earn during 2010 alone. Today, women earn just 75% of what men earn, and the wage gap is even greater for minority women and older women. With women making a growing share of family income, this inequity is felt by families throughout the country. It is past time for this injustice to come to an end.
Democrats have offered on the House Floor five times a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open as negotiations on a full year continuing resolution continue. So far, even though Democrats have gone 70 percent of the way to Republicans’ position, Republicans refuse to compromise over their divisive social agenda. As a result, Republicans are risking a shutdown that will harm the economy and negatively impact Americans.
Sigmund Livingston, the founder of the Anti-Defamation League, reflected that anti-Semitism is ‘an expression of hatred the seeds of which were planted in the days of childhood, when the mind is subtly conditioned for the reception of libels and fictions.’ He understood that anti-Semitism feeds on ignorance and can take root very early in life. And he created the Anti-Defamation League because he believed in the power of truth, boldly and unapologetically stated, to overcome that ignorance. I believe that that mission has taken on a special importance at this moment in history.
Today, America honors the pioneering labor leader César Chávez on what would have been his 84th birthday. Chávez spent his life fighting for the rights and dignity of Latino farmworkers and the underprivileged. He is rightly remembered as one of the greatest civil rights leaders of the 20th century. We can honor his legacy by carrying forward the principles for which he worked so hard: workers’ right to organize, fair and safe labor conditions, freedom from racial discrimination, and opportunity for all Americans.
As a lead co-sponsor of the ADA Amendments Act, I am pleased that the EEOC has issued final regulations today that will ensure all Americans with disabilities will be able to invoke the full protections provided under the ADA,” said Democratic Whip Hoyer. “The ADA Amendments Act restored the intent of the original ADA law to protect anyone with a disability, even if they take steps to mitigate their condition. The regulations issued today uphold the law and open the doors of opportunity to everyone."