Democrats are pushing for a vote on a bill that may establish reparations, hoping to gain momentum from the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre.
H.R. 40, if passed by the House, would allocate $20 million towards a commission to study the impact of slavery on descendants, reported The Daily Caller.
The commission would have the ability to suggest “appropriate remedies” to Congress, which could manifest in the form of reparations.
Some members of the House are using 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre that occurred on June 1, to propel their political agendas.
“For those of us who went to Tulsa,” Rep. Hank Johnson (D- Ga.) said to The Hill, “it became even more apparent to us how important it is to pass H.R. 40 and to do so certainly before we leave for the August Recess.”
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Rep. Barbara Lee (D- Calif.) joined Johnson in using Tulsa to push for the commission.
“Tulsa is ground zero, I believe, in terms of raising the level of awareness, and the whys, and the importance of reparations and getting H.R. 40 passed,” Lee said, according to the Hill.
Sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D- Texas), the commission passed the House Judiciary Committee in April but now awaits a vote in the House.
This push comes after the Senate unanimously voted to make Juneteenth Day a federal holiday yesterday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
As racial tensions in the US remain high with Juneteenth Day and the Tulsa Massacre anniversary, Democrats are appropriating the conversation in hopes of passing their reparations commission.