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[Pages H2985-H2986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TWO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO THE CRISIS AMERICANS ARE FACING
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
MR. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, the longer I am here the more I question
why everything must be so complex. Some, like our transportation bill,
are complex because of the massive interrelationships we have, but
others we just make complex.
I would offer two simple solutions today to the crisis that we are
facing, not just from Black Americans, for justice. First, I would
suggest that we remove the dead hand of Richard Nixon
[[Page H2986]]
from the scales of justice with his cynical, cruel war on drugs, which
continues to this day.
Tens of thousands of young Black Americans are arrested or cited
still for something that two-thirds of Americans think should be legal;
and, in fact, voters in 10 States have done so. We are watching how
these interactions with police with young people for something that
even a majority of Republicans now say should be legal can lead to
tragic consequences. Why do we do this?
We have an opportunity before us now with legislation approved by the
House Judiciary Committee, the MORE Act, which incorporates many
elements of Congresswoman Barbara Lee's Marijuana Justice Act, which
would just legalize marijuana, what the majority of American people
want, what is happening in States across the country, and prevent this
opportunity for interference with law enforcement that is completely
unjustified. Completely unjustified.
I suggest that there is another simple action to deal with a century
of discrimination dealing with housing specifically against people of
color. I spent most of last summer and fall doing a deep dive into
American housing policy. I have a report on my website: ``LOCKED OUT.
Reversing Federal Housing Failures and Unlocking Opportunity.''
But what I found dealing with this is a tragic, embarrassing record
of blatant discrimination by the Federal Government against people of
color, especially Black Americans.
Look at the history of the Federal Government denying them housing
for wartime work projects, for redlining, denying applications for New
Deal housing projects, excluding African Americans. And an example of
something that I just recently became aware of, the 1968 Housing and
Urban Development Act, which had good intentions and generous terms,
but gave way to predatory inclusion where real estate interests, banks
sold essentially deficient properties at terms that unsophisticated
buyers did not fully understand. But the banks and real estate
interests didn't care because the loans were guaranteed by the Federal
Government at inflated prices. Banking and real estate interests were
able to take those back, flip them, sell them again. It is a shameful
chapter in this century-long process of discriminating against African
Americans in housing.
I would suggest that when we look at what we might do, some are
thinking about reparations, I suggest we just provide generous rental
subsidies and loan terms for Black Americans. Think of it as a GI Bill
for Black Americans who endured a century of discrimination and denying
them the access to wealth that has built much of the White middle
class.
I would respectfully suggest that this is long overdue. It is
justified. It would help stop some of the free-fall in housing markets
that is moving forward and could lead to the same economic burst of
energy that we saw after World War II for the GI Bill, which too many
Black Americans were denied.
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