S40-118

Introduced

To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.

118th Congress Introduced Jan 24, 2023

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill provides findings and purpose The Congress finds that— approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865, creates establishment and duties There is established the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Commission), and provides membership The Commission shall be composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows: Three members shall be appointed by the President. It relies on appropriations, compliance mandates, reporting requirements, and grants. The main policy areas are Education, Environment, Criminal Justice, and Finance.

Who Benefits and How

Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill could gain revenue opportunities, Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities could gain revenue opportunities, and Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause could face reduced risk.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause would take on compliance duties, Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill could lose revenue opportunities, and Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities would take on compliance duties.

Key Provisions

  • Provides findings and purpose The Congress finds that— approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865.
  • Creates establishment and duties There is established the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Commission).
  • Provides membership The Commission shall be composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows: Three members shall be appointed by the President.
  • Provides powers of the Commission The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in the United States, and request...
  • Creates administrative provisions The Commission may, subject to subsection (b), appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers appropriate.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

The bill provides findings and purpose The Congress finds that— approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865, creates establishment and duties There is established the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Commission), and provides membership The Commission shall be composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows: Three members shall be appointed by the President.

Key Policy Areas

Education, Environment, Criminal Justice, Finance

Primary Purpose

The bill provides findings and purpose The Congress finds that— approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 1865, creates establishment and duties There is established the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Commission), and provides membership The Commission shall be composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows: Three members shall be appointed by the President.

Policy Domains

Education Environment Criminal Justice Finance

Whole bill

Identified Gains
  • Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill
  • Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities
  • Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause
  • Homeowners, tenants, or housing market participants affected by the bill
  • Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill: , , ,
Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities: , ,
Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause: ,
Homeowners, tenants, or housing market participants affected by the bill:
Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill:
Identified Costs
  • Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause
  • Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill
  • Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities
  • Financial services firms and customers affected by the bill
  • Educational institutions and students affected by the bill
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
Educational institutions and students affected by the bill: ,
Financial services firms and customers affected by the bill: ,
Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill: , ,
Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities: ,
Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause: , , , , , ,

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Jan 24, 2023

Mr. Booker (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Markey, Mr. Casey, …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Law Enforcement
5 mentions across 5 clauses
+3 positive -2 negative

Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities

Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities faces effects in multiple directions

7/8
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Education Environment Criminal Justice Finance

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology