On behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am delighted to congratulate our very own Member, Representative Cedric Richmond, on his historic appointment to serve in the Biden Administration. As the Director of Public Engagement and Senior Advisor to President-Elect Joe Biden, Rep. Richmond will be the most senior African-American serving in the incoming administration. This appointment is a clear recognition of both the critical role Rep. Richmond played in the Biden Campaign as national co-...
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Congratulations to President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris on your historic victory today. You fought for the soul of America. Today marks a new dawn in our country and the beginning of our journey on the road to repair after four long years of repressive policies towards communities of color. The Congressional Black Caucus is proud of our very own, Sen. Kamala Harris who will be the first woman Vice President and the first Black and South Asian Vice-President. Vice Pres...
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Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, sent a letter to Mr. Tony H. Pham, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director, demanding that ICE stop its plans to deport over 200 Cameroonian asylum seekers today and the hundreds of others in various ICE facilities throughout the country without a thorough investigation. Recent allegations have been raised that the Cameroonian...
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In July, the IRS determined that incarcerated Americans were not entitled to economic impact payments (EIPs). This position is inconsistent with the CARES Act, unfairly harms the incarcerated, and disproportionately discriminates against African Americans. At the notice of this directive by the IRS, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to the Mr. Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner of the IRS, and called for the reversal of this guidance because it is unlawful and discriminatory to exclude i...
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Last night’s debate was just another example of President Trump’s inability to defend his record over the last four years as President and most especially admit that the 200,000 plus American lives that have been lost to COVID-19, could have been avoided, if his Administration had proactively responded earlier when he was notified of the imminent dangers of the disease. His lackluster leadership on even basic things like making face masks mandatory, ensuring that every American had access to fac...
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Congressional Black Caucus Chair Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA) and Congressional Black Caucus Judicial Nominations Task Force Chair Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today issued the following statement regarding the current Supreme Court vacancy: “Along with Americans throughout the country, we are devastated by the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg devoted her life first to fighting for justice and equality and then on the Court to expanding equality and devoting...
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Don’t be fooled. In 39 days, you won’t hear another word about a Platinum Plan from Donald Trump. If he was serious about economic empowerment in Black communities, he would have listened to the Congressional Black Caucus when we met with him in 2017 to tell him our priorities. Instead, he never even read our 140-page proposal and went on to embolden white supremacists and give tax cuts to himself and his billionaire friends. And while Black people are being disproportionately hit by COVID-19, T...
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Today, President Trump announced an Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities in response to national calls for law enforcement reform. The President’s Executive Order falls woefully short of the long overdue demands for accountability and transparency in our police departments. During the announcement today, the President claimed the Executive Order would set standards "as high and as strong as there is on Earth" on the use of force, and that he would prioritize federal grants to po...
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The Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement following the announcement by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that two members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and Val Demings (FL-10), as managers for the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump in the United States Senate: “As the conscience of the Congress, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Representatives Jeffries and Demings, have worked tirelessly to ensure that our dem...
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The Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement after the House voted to approve two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump: “This is indeed a dark time in our nation’s history. For only the third time in United States history, a sitting President has been impeached by the House of Representatives. The facts are undeniable: Donald J. Trump has abused the power of the office of the Presidency in his blatant attempt to cheat his way to reelection. Congress is a c...
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