Before coming to Congress just last November, I was a public interest attorney, and so my work focused on access to justice, access to the ballot, and access to a good public education.

There is a disproportionate representation of people of color among poor people in this country.

Thank you all very, very much for being here with us today.

We did focus very much on affordability, accountability, transparency, and innovation.

Well, if the whole country benefited, then that would mean that those blacks who didn't live in the south benefited, too. So, should they be paying reparations to other blacks who happen to be descendants from families from those areas?

I just think that that in itself seems to be, you know, a bridge too far for most Americans, looking forward instead of looking back.

We have to say that, in our country, we pride ourselves with our development, but we refuse to acknowledge that the reason we have the development that we do is because the first 200 years of our history was done with free labor.

I think maybe people don't remember who Fannie Lou Hamer was? Black folks fought the Democratic Party.

H.R. 40 calls for the establishment of a commission. It does not call for checks.

Slavery is original sin. Slavery has never received an apology.

Reparations in the context of H.R. 40 are ultimately about respect and reconciliation and the hope that one day all Americans can walk together toward a more just future.

I am proud to be a cosponsor with her along with full committee chair Jerry Nadler.

I want to certainly acknowledge NCOBRA for its steadfast leadership on this issue over the years.

The role of the Federal Government in supporting the institution of slavery and subsequent discrimination directed against Blacks is an injustice that must be formally acknowledged and addressed.

H.R. 40 is a legitimate legislative action that should receive the full hearing of this committee.

This moment of national reckoning comes at a time when our Nation must find constructive ways to confront a rising tide of racial and ethnic division.

I hope that we come in peace.

I am delighted to have reintroduced it with its modification and carry it forward to its next level.