House Judiciary Committee advances reparations bill in historic vote

• The same reparations bill advanced on Wednesday was first introduced in the House in 1989, but never received a committee vote.
• The racial justice protests of 2020 have given new wind to the movement to pass reparations legislation, but the bill still faces formidable Republican opposition.

Details: If passed, the bill would create a 13-person commission to "study the effects of slavery and racial discrimination, hold hearings and recommend "appropriate remedies" to Congress," per the Post.

• What form these remedies would take is still up for debate. Jackson Lee told the Post that the committee would offer Congress a variety of proposals on how to end economic, health, and educational racial disparities.
• President Biden has affirmed his support for a study on reparations and is open to considering potential legislation recommended by the commission, NPR reports.

Yes, but: Republicans remain firmly opposed to the idea of reparations.

• "I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible, is a good idea," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in 2019.