[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2163 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2163

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2019

  Mr. Rubio (for himself, Ms. Harris, and Mr. Booker) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.

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.
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