Democrats debate timing and wisdom of reparations vote
By Mike Lillis - 04/17/21 06:00 AM EDT Reparations advocates notched a historic victory this week when a House committee approved, for the first time, legislation to study whether Black Americans should receive restitution for slavery.
Now those lawmakers want a vote on the floor.
But while Democratic leaders in the last Congress had promised quick action on the reparations bill if it passed through the House Judiciary Committee, they're treading more carefully this year.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) supports the proposal but is leaving the vote calendar decisions to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Hoyer suggested Thursday that the bill will reach the floor at some point but stopped short of committing to a vote, saying instead that he would converse with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).
"I'm going to talk to the chairman, see what we're going to do with it. I presume it'll get a floor vote," Hoyer said.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), the bill's lead sponsor, all but guaranteed the measure will eventually reach the floor, saying Democrats are aiming to stage the vote roughly two months from now to commemorate Juneteenth, the holiday marking the emancipation of slaves following the Civil War.
"I've spoken to all of leadership," Jackson Lee said. "I feel very comfortable with where we are."
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/548782-democrats-debate-timing-and-wisdom-of-reparations-vote
