[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6048 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6048
To establish a Commission for Review and Correction of Historical
Injustices, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 25, 2023
Mr. DeSaulnier (for himself and Ms. Lee of California) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and
Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Commission for Review and Correction of Historical
Injustices, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Confronting and Correcting
Historical Injustices Act''.
SEC. 2. COMMISSION FOR REVIEW AND CORRECTION OF HISTORICAL INJUSTICES.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known
as the Commission for Review and Correction of Historical Injustices
(in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'').
(b) Duties of Commission.--The Commission shall--
(1) identify and review each instance of historical
injustice;
(2) identify and review any instance in which a Federal
agency has unjustly discriminated against an individual or
group protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000a et seq.), by the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 705), and
members of the uniformed services as defined by section 101 of
title 10, United States Code, that led to a discriminatory
charge, conviction, or dismissal of that individual or group;
(3) identify and review any instance where an individual or
group has been discriminated against and has not received
compensation for the discriminatory act of the Federal agency;
(4) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, establish a mechanism for the public to submit and be
heard on each instance of discrimination by a Federal agency
for consideration by the Commission; and
(5) not later than 180 days after a public submission
described in paragraph (4) is submitted, the Commission shall
review the submission or decline to consider the instance of
discrimination.
(c) Membership.--
(1) Number.--The Commission shall be composed of 12 members
appointed as follows:
(A) Four members shall be appointed by the Speaker
of the House of Representatives.
(B) Two members shall be appointed by the minority
leader of the House of Representatives.
(C) Four members shall be appointed by the majority
leader of the Senate.
(D) Two members shall be appointed by the minority
leader of the Senate.
(2) Appointment.--Members of the Commission shall be
appointed to the Commission not later than 60 days after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(3) Member qualifications.--
(A) In general.--Members of the Commission
appointed shall be civil rights leaders, historians,
lawyers, or judges with expertise or academic
experience in--
(i) civil rights;
(ii) social justice;
(iii) civil law;
(iv) criminal law;
(v) constitutional law; or
(vi) history.
(B) Recommendations.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives, minority leader of the House of
Representatives, majority leader of the Senate, and
minority leader of the Senate may solicit and receive
recommendations from civil rights groups and submit
such recommendations to the Commission for review.
(4) Terms.--
(A) In general.--Each member appointed after the
initial appointments described in subparagraph (B)
shall be appointed for three years.
(B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall
be filled in the manner in which the original
appointment was made.
(5) Basic pay.--The rate of pay for members of the
Commission shall be set by the Chairperson of the Commission.
(6) Quorum.--9 members of the Commission shall constitute a
quorum and are required to conduct the duties of the
Commission.
(7) Chairperson.--One member shall be elected to serve as
the chair of the Commission.
(8) Meetings.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act and quarterly thereafter, the Commission
shall hold a meeting. Additional meetings may be called by a
majority of the members.
(d) Director; Staff of Commission.--
(1) Director.--The Commission shall have a Director who
shall be appointed by a majority vote of the Commission.
(2) Staff.--Subject to rules prescribed by the Commission,
the Commission shall appoint and fix the pay of at least 11
additional personnel as the Director considers appropriate.
(3) Civil service protection.--The Director and staff shall
qualify for civil service protection.
(e) Consultation.--The Commission may collaborate with historians,
sociologists, researchers, graduate students, doctoral students, law
students, community members, formerly incarcerated or exonerated
individuals, or other individuals directly impacted by discrimination
by any Federal agency to identify any appropriate instance to be
reviewed by the Commission.
(f) Research.--The Commission may investigate any instance brought
to the attention of the Commission as described in subsection (e) and
may issue a subpoena to any agency that a majority of the Commission
determines is necessary.
(g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and at least quarterly thereafter, the
Commission shall submit to Congress and the appropriate congressional
committees, a report including the following:
(1) Information on any alternative to the pardon process,
including exoneration or other forgiveness.
(2) Each instance reviewed during the quarter.
(3) Recommendations on legislative or executive action with
respect to each instance reviewed by the Commission.
(h) Exception for Termination of Commission.--Section 14(a)(2) of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) does not apply to
the Commission.
(i) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the following:
(1) The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(2) The Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
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