[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2163 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.2163
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty
An Act
To establish the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys,
to study and make recommendations to address social problems affecting
Black men and boys, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Commission on the Social Status of
Black Men and Boys Act''.
SEC. 2. COMMISSION ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.
(a) Establishment.--The Commission on the Social Status of Black
Men and Boys (hereinafter in this Act referred to as ``the
Commission'') is established within the United States Commission on
Civil Rights Office of the Staff Director.
(b) Membership.--The Commission shall consist of 19 members
appointed as follows:
(1) The Senate majority leader shall appoint one member who is
not employed by the Federal Government and is an expert on issues
affecting Black men and boys in America.
(2) The Senate minority leader shall appoint one member who is
not employed by the Federal Government and is an expert on issues
affecting Black men and boys in America.
(3) The House of Representatives majority leader shall appoint
one member who is not employed by the Federal Government and is an
expert on issues affecting Black men and boys in America.
(4) The House of Representatives minority leader shall appoint
one member who is not employed by the Federal Government and is an
expert on issues affecting Black men and boys in America.
(5) The Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus shall be a
member of the Commission, as well as 5 additional Members of the
Congressional Black Caucus who shall be individuals that either sit
on the following committees of relevant jurisdiction or are experts
on issues affecting Black men and boys in the United States,
including--
(A) education;
(B) justice and Civil Rights;
(C) healthcare;
(D) labor and employment; and
(E) housing.
(6) The Staff Director of the United States Commission on Civil
Rights shall appoint one member from within the staff of the United
States Commission on Civil Rights who is an expert in issues
relating to Black men and boys.
(7) The Chair of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission shall appoint one member from within the staff of the
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission who is an
expert in equal employment issues impacting Black men.
(8) The Secretary of Education shall appoint one member from
within the Department of Education who is an expert in urban
education.
(9) The Attorney General shall appoint one member from within
the Department of Justice who is an expert in racial disparities
within the criminal justice system.
(10) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall appoint
one member from within the Department of Health and Human Services
who is an expert in health issues facing Black men.
(11) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
appoint one member from within the Department of Housing and Urban
Development who is an expert in housing and development in urban
communities.
(12) The Secretary of Labor shall appoint one member from
within the Department of Labor who is an expert in labor issues
impacting Black men.
(13) The President of the United States shall appoint 2 members
who are not employed by the Federal Government and are experts on
issues affecting Black men and boys in America.
(c) Membership by Political Party.--If after the Commission is
appointed there is a partisan imbalance of Commission members, the
congressional leaders of the political party with fewer members on the
Commission shall jointly name additional members to create partisan
parity on the Commission.
SEC. 3. OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO APPOINTMENT; REMOVAL.
(a) Timing of Initial Appointments.--Each initial appointment to
the Commission shall be made no later than 90 days after the Commission
is established. If any appointing authorities fail to appoint a member
to the Commission, their appointment shall be made by the Staff
Director of the Commission on Civil Rights.
(b) Terms.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, the term
of a member of the Commission shall be 4 years. For the purpose of
providing staggered terms, the first term of those members initially
appointed under paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 2 shall be
appointed to 2-year terms with all other terms lasting 4 years. Members
are eligible for consecutive reappointment.
(c) Removal.--A member of the Commission may be removed from the
Commission at any time by the appointing authority should the member
fail to meet Commission responsibilities. Once the seat becomes vacant,
the appointing authority is responsible for filling the vacancy in the
Commission before the next meeting.
(d) Vacancies.--The appointing authority of a member of the
Commission shall either reappoint that member at the end of that
member's term or appoint another person meeting the qualifications for
that appointment. In the event of a vacancy arising during a term, the
appointing authority shall, before the next meeting of the Commission,
appoint a replacement to finish that term.
SEC. 4. LEADERSHIP ELECTION.
At the first meeting of the Commission each year, the members shall
elect a Chair and a Secretary. A vacancy in the Chair or Secretary
shall be filled by vote of the remaining members. The Chair and
Secretary are eligible for consecutive reappointment.
SEC. 5. COMMISSION DUTIES AND POWERS.
(a) Study.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall conduct a systematic
study of the conditions affecting Black men and boys, including
homicide rates, arrest and incarceration rates, poverty, violence,
fatherhood, mentorship, drug abuse, death rates, disparate income
and wealth levels, school performance in all grade levels including
postsecondary education and college, and health issues.
(2) Trends.--The Commission shall document trends regarding the
topics described in paragraph (1) and report on the community
impacts of relevant government programs within the scope of such
topics.
(b) Proposal of Measures.--The Commission shall propose measures to
alleviate and remedy the underlying causes of the conditions described
in subsection (a), which may include recommendations of changes to the
law, recommendations for how to implement related policies, and
recommendations for how to create, develop, or improve upon government
programs.
(c) Suggestions and Comments.--The Commission shall accept
suggestions or comments pertinent to the applicable issues from members
of Congress, governmental agencies, public and private organizations,
and private citizens.
(d) Staff and Administrative Support.--The Office of the Staff
Director of the United States Commission on Civil Rights shall provide
staff and administrative support to the Commission. All entities of the
United States Government shall provide information that is otherwise a
public record at the request of the Commission.
SEC. 6. COMMISSION MEETING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) First Meeting.--The first meeting of the Commission shall take
place no later than 30 days after the initial members are all
appointed. Meetings shall be focused on significant issues impacting
Black men and boys, for the purpose of initiating research ideas and
delegating research tasks to Commission members to initiate the first
annual report described in section 7.
(b) Quarterly Meetings.--The Commission shall meet quarterly. In
addition to all quarterly meetings, the Commission shall meet at other
times at the call of the Chair or as determined by a majority of
Commission members.
(c) Quorum; Rule for Voting on Final Actions.--A majority of the
members of the Commission constitute a quorum, and an affirmative vote
of a majority of the members present is required for final action.
(d) Expectations for Attendance by Members.--Members are expected
to attend all Commission meetings. In the case of an absence, members
are expected to report to the Chair prior to the meeting and allowance
may be made for an absent member to participate remotely. Members will
still be responsible for fulfilling prior commitments, regardless of
attendance status. If a member is absent twice in a given year, he or
she will be reviewed by the Chair and appointing authority and further
action will be considered, including removal and replacement on the
Commission.
(e) Minutes.--Minutes shall be taken at each meeting by the
Secretary, or in that individual's absence, the Chair shall select
another Commission member to take minutes during that absence. The
Commission shall make its minutes publicly available and accessible not
later than one week after each meeting.
SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT GUIDELINES.
The Commission shall make an annual report, beginning the year of
the first Commission meeting. The report shall address the current
conditions affecting Black men and boys and make recommendations to
address these issues. The report shall be submitted to the President,
the Congress, members of the President's Cabinet, and the chairs of the
appropriate committees of jurisdiction. The Commission shall make the
report publicly available online on a centralized Federal website.
SEC. 8. COMMISSION COMPENSATION.
Members of the Commission shall serve on the Commission without
compensation.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.