House Dems reintroduce reparations legislation: ‘We refuse to be silent’

House Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced legislation that aims to find ways to deliver reparations to Black Americans who are descendants of slaves.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., is co-leading the reintroduction of H.R.40, or the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, to Congress with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

Pressley, a progressive member of the Squad, said during a news conference that “reparations are a necessary step in achieving justice.”

“We are in a moment of anti-Blackness on steroids and we refuse to be silent,” Pressley said. “We will not back down in our pursuit of racial justice.”

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., reintroduced H.R.40, a bill that aims to create a commission to study the impact of slavery and develop ways to deliver reparations to African Americans who are descendants of slaves. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, File)

The bill aims to create a federal commission charged with investigating the enduring impacts of slavery and its aftermath, along with developing concrete proposals for reparations to African Americans who are descendants of slaves, Pressley said.

Reparations can take different forms but broadly refer to payments or other forms of recompense to the descendants of Black individuals affected by slavery or past racist policies.

Democratic politicians in blue states, including California, in recent years have floated reparations as a way to atone for what proponents describe as a legacy of racist policies that created disparities for Black people in housing, education and health.

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Democrats on the Hill and in California have pushed for passage of reparations legislation, with other cities and states proposing ideas for reparations.

In August, however, a pair of reparations-related bills for the descendants of enslaved Black Americans failed to pass in the California legislature after backers said the bills would not move forward and were at risk of being vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said in a statement last month that “we as a nation have not yet truly acknowledged and grappled with the ways slavery, racism, and white supremacy continue to disadvantage African Americans.” (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Booker’s office released a statement last month on the bill’s reintroduction, which 17 Democratic senators are cosponsoring. 

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“We as a nation have not yet truly acknowledged and grappled with the ways slavery, racism, and white supremacy continue to disadvantage African Americans,” Booker said in a statement. “Commissioning a study to better understand where our country has fallen short will help lawmakers better address the racial disparities and inequalities that persist today as a result of generational injustices.”

Fox News’ Joshua Q. Nelson and Jaime Joseph contributed to this report.