Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act

Key Points

• The bill creates a 15-member commission in the legislative branch to study the history of slavery in the United States from 1619 to 1865, including the capture, transport, sale, and treatment of enslaved Africans and their descendants.
• Beyond slavery itself, the commission would examine how government actions after abolition continued to harm Black Americans through discriminatory policies like redlining, unequal education funding, and unfair treatment in the criminal justice system.
• The commission would recommend how the government should formally apologize and what forms of compensation or programs should be created for descendants of enslaved Africans, including how payments would be calculated and who would be eligible.
• The commission has 18 months after its first full meeting to submit a written report to Congress with findings and recommendations. It would then shut down 90 days after delivering that report.
• The bill authorizes $20 million for the commission's work, including hiring staff, experts, and consultants. Members would be appointed by the president, Speaker of the House, and President pro tempore of the Senate, along with six subject matter experts from civil rights and reparations organizations.