House panel poised to advance bill on slavery reparations
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House panel is expected to advance a decadeslong effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves with a vote Wednesday on legislation that would create a commission to study the issue.
It's the first time the House Judiciary Committee has acted on the legislation. Still, prospects for final passage remain poor in such a closely divided Congress.
The legislation would establish a 13-member commission to examine slavery and discrimination in the United States from 1619 to the present. The commission would then recommend ways to educate Americans about its findings and appropriate remedies, including how the government would offer a formal apology and what form of compensation should be awarded.
The bill, commonly referred to as H.R. 40, was first introduced by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., in 1989. The 40 refers to the failed government effort to provide 40 acres (16 hectares) of land to newly freed slaves as the Civil War drew to a close.
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