[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7354 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7354

 To establish an Interagency Task Force to examine the conditions and 
      experiences of Black women and girls in education, economic 
  development, healthcare, labor and employment, housing, justice and 
  civil rights, to promote community-based methods for mitigating and 
  addressing harm and ensuring accountability, and to study societal 
       effects on Black women and girls, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2024

Ms. Kelly of Illinois (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs. Watson 
Coleman, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Blunt Rochester, 
  Ms. Norton, Ms. Adams, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Waters, Ms. McClellan, Ms. 
Crockett, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Moore of 
Wisconsin, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Brown, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. 
   Lee of Pennsylvania, Mrs. McBath, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Strickland, Ms. 
   Pressley, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. 
Plaskett, and Ms. Jackson Lee) introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
  Committees on Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, and 
 Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an Interagency Task Force to examine the conditions and 
      experiences of Black women and girls in education, economic 
  development, healthcare, labor and employment, housing, justice and 
  civil rights, to promote community-based methods for mitigating and 
  addressing harm and ensuring accountability, and to study societal 
       effects on Black women and girls, 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 ``Protect Black Women and Girls Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) 
        advises Congress, as well as the President and the American 
        public, on ``discrimination or denials of equal protection of 
        the laws under the Constitution of the United States because of 
        color, race, religion, sex, age, disability, or national 
        origin, or in the administration of justice''.
            (2) The USCCR routinely has difficulties collecting 
        information from Federal agencies despite having the power to 
        take depositions, issue interrogatories and subpoenas, and 
        broad authority language for the collection of information from 
        Federal agencies.
            (3) The activities mandated herein for the USCCR are 
        explicitly authorized by section 3 of the Civil Rights 
        Commission Act of 1983 (42 U.S.C. 1975a).
            (4) An interagency task force is a task force organized in 
        collaboration with two or more Federal agencies, using 
        government-wide resources, and expertise to--
                    (A) examine a particular problem, issue, or event;
                    (B) discuss strategies as a collective group to 
                address such problem, issue, or event;
                    (C) identify programs, policies, and funding; and
                    (D) make recommendations for changes in public 
                policy.
            (5) Black women and girls are individuals who identify as a 
        woman, female, or femme.
            (6) Implicit bias on the basis of race is experienced by 
        all Black people, and demonstrated more clearly, in the 
        troubling conditions for Black women and girls in our school 
        discipline policies and the connections to the school-to-prison 
        pipeline for children of color with disabilities.
            (7) Black girls are suspended and expelled from school at 
        rates that exceed other girls and all other boys except Black 
        boys.
            (8) 40 percent of all suspected human trafficking victims 
        in the U.S. are Black, and Black children account for nearly 51 
        percent of all juvenile prostitution arrests.
            (9) In studying the conditions of confinement for women in 
        prison, Black women are admitted to prison at 3.9 times the 
        rate of White women.

SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall establish an Interagency 
Task Force on Black women and girls (referred to in this Act as the 
``Task Force'') to carry out the purposes and duties described in 
subsections (d) and (e), in compliance with requirements and 
restrictions under law, as applicable, including those prohibiting 
discrimination on the basis of race and sex.
    (b) Membership.--The Task Force shall consist of members appointed 
as follows:
            (1) The head of each of the following agencies shall 
        appoint at least one officer or employee, but no more than two, 
        from a relevant office of the following:
                    (A) The Department of Health and Human Services.
                    (B) The Department of Education.
                    (C) The Department of Labor.
                    (D) The National Institutes of Health.
                    (E) The Department of Justice.
                    (F) The Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development.
            (2) The Attorney General shall appoint the following:
                    (A) One officer or employee of a defender 
                organization described in section 3006A(g)(2) of title 
                18, United States Code.
                    (B) Two representatives of community-based 
                organizations that have expertise working on culturally 
                specific issues unique to the needs of Black women and 
                girls.
    (c) Terms.--The term of a member of the Task Force shall be 4 
years, and the member shall be eligible for consecutive reappointment 
by the head of their respective agency or the Attorney General.
    (d) Purpose.--The purpose of the Task Force is to examine the 
conditions and experiences of Black women and girls, to identify and 
assess the efficacy of policies and programs of Federal, State, and 
local governments designed to improve outcomes for Black women and 
girls, and to make recommendations to improve such policies and 
programs.
    (e) Duties.--The duties of the Task Force are as follows:
            (1) Education.--The Task Force shall identify and recommend 
        programs, policies, and incentives for adoption by Federal, 
        State, or local governments with respect to the following:
                    (A) Community-led educational and support programs 
                for Black girls in kindergarten through grade 12, which 
                shall include the following:
                            (i) Social and emotional learning programs, 
                        including those that employ facilitators 
                        trained in identity-based dialogue.
                            (ii) Support for girls who have a parent or 
                        guardian who is incarcerated or has a substance 
                        use disorder.
                            (iii) Support for a college scholarship 
                        fund and programs to increase access to post-
                        secondary education for Black children of 
                        incarcerated parents.
                            (iv) Classroom and after school empowerment 
                        programs for Black girls.
                            (v) Community-led civic engagement and 
                        community organizing education.
                            (vi) Classroom and community-led art, 
                        theater, and STEM learning centers.
                            (vii) School-based and community-based 
                        programs to eliminate the detention and 
                        incarceration of school-aged children that 
                        employ trained de-escalation professionals.
                            (viii) Household access to school-based 
                        communication technologies.
                            (ix) School-based or community-based 
                        restorative justice programs instead of 
                        expulsion of girls from school.
                            (x) Curriculum, tutoring, and activities 
                        support for homeschooling and virtual learning 
                        families.
                            (xi) School-based or community-based 
                        programs on comprehensive, age-appropriate, 
                        sexual health education, which teaches about 
                        consent and healthy relationships across the 
                        spectrum.
                    (B) Community-led educational programs for Black 
                women, including--
                            (i) providing household access to 
                        information and communication technologies to 
                        narrow the digital divide and enhance access to 
                        higher education;
                            (ii) emotional support training for Black 
                        mothers, parents, or other guardians on child 
                        development and behavioral and discipline 
                        management; and
                            (iii) educational programs to support 
                        immigrant women, including English learning 
                        courses, citizenship preparation courses, and 
                        GED courses.
                    (C) School-based and community-based restorative 
                and transformative justice curriculums and spaces.
                    (D) Policies that prohibit religious discrimination 
                against Black Muslim girls in kindergarten through 
                grade 12, which may include the following:
                            (i) Allowing girls to always wear all 
                        cultural and religious garments.
                            (ii) Excusing absences for Muslim girls 
                        during religious holidays.
                            (iii) Avoiding scheduling exams during 
                        Muslim holidays that require such girls to 
                        fast.
                    (E) Educational programs for Black girls in 
                kindergarten through grade 12 with learning, 
                developmental, and emotional disabilities that may pose 
                an obstacle to learning and excelling in academics, and 
                support groups for parents of such children.
                    (F) Programs and support groups for mothers, 
                parents, or guardians of a child with disabilities.
            (2) Economic development.--The Task Force shall identify 
        and recommend programs, policies, and incentives for adoption 
        by Federal, State, or local governments with respect to the 
        following:
                    (A) Pre-apprenticeship, nontraditional, and career 
                exploration programs for careers in the skilled trades 
                and transportation.
                    (B) Programs that give priority to black women-
                owned businesses, which qualify as disadvantaged 
                business enterprises, when awarding yearly and multi-
                year contract dollars.
                    (C) Entrepreneurship and cooperative business 
                training for Black women.
                    (D) Support for low-income Black women workers.
                    (E) Career mentorship for Black women.
                    (F) Support for Black women workers over the age of 
                50 to enter the workforce.
                    (G) Support for Black women who leave the workforce 
                to care for a dependent (such as an elderly relative or 
                child) to re-enter the workforce after a significant 
                absence.
                    (H) Increase in sustainable employment for women 
                headed households.
                    (I) Limitation of barriers to occupational 
                licensure for Black women.
                    (J) Establishment of vocational training and career 
                technical education.
                    (K) Job placement and career assistance programs 
                for Black youth experiencing homelessness or 
                discrimination.
                    (L) Support for Black women and girls with 
                disabilities entering the workforce in partnership with 
                local businesses.
            (3) Healthcare.--The Task Force shall identify and 
        recommend programs, policies, and incentives for adoption by 
        Federal, State, or local governments with respect to the 
        following:
                    (A) Developing a study of the health, including the 
                mental health, of Black women and girls.
                    (B) Programs to improve maternal health from the 
                prenatal to postpartum period and infant mortality 
                outcomes for Black mothers and children.
                    (C) Community-based, on demand mental health and 
                trauma services.
                    (D) Gender and culturally responsive domestic 
                violence (including violence against an intimate 
                partner) and interpersonal violence responders.
                    (E) Local neighborhood safe houses.
                    (F) Long-term, on demand, substance use disorder 
                treatment.
                    (G) Community-based emergency response teams for 
                women and girls.
                    (H) Access to comprehensive well-women care for 
                Black women and girls, including local testing for 
                mammograms, papsmears, sexually transmitted infections, 
                other medical testing, and general health screenings.
                    (I) Local neighborhood COVID-19 testing.
                    (J) Programs to assist Black mothers, parents, or 
                guardians of children with disabilities and Black women 
                with disabilities with obtaining affordable health 
                insurance.
            (4) Justice and civil rights.--The Task Force shall 
        identify and recommend programs, policies, and incentives for 
        adoption by Federal, State, or local governments with respect 
        to the following:
                    (A) Reentry assistance and reunification planning 
                and community-based programming for women victims of 
                sexual, domestic, or intimate partner violence, or the 
                war on drugs or women experiencing mental illness or 
                substance abuse.
                    (B) Programs for Black women and girls that promote 
                the treatment of underlying problems instead of 
                incarceration, including the expansion of the use of 
                parole and diversion programs and preventing the 
                incarceration of mothers who are primary caretakers of 
                minor children.
                    (C) Access to legal assistance provided by the 
                Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of 
                Justice for child custody and parental termination 
                proceedings.
                    (D) Funding that enables communities to reimagine 
                community-based programming.
                    (E) Support for formerly incarcerated Black women, 
                in collaboration with community-led organizations.
                    (F) Permitting formerly incarcerated and convicted 
                women (not including incarceration or convictions for 
                violent offenses, human trafficking, or sex offenses) 
                to be eligible to serve as a foster parent.
                    (G) Judicial discretion in sentencing and 
                procedures for resentencing.
                    (H) Examination of policies to reform and limit 
                laws requiring mandatory minimum sentences.
                    (I) Examination of vacatur and expungement laws for 
                criminal offenses committed by victims of human and sex 
                trafficking.
                    (J) Promoting access for Black women with 
                disabilities to be sheltered, or held in mental 
                healthcare facilities rather than imprisoned, 
                especially for nonviolent crimes.
            (5) Housing.--The Task Force shall identify and recommend 
        programs, policies, and incentives for adoption by Federal, 
        State, or local governments with respect to the following:
                    (A) Increasing access to the following:
                            (i) Permanent and transitional housing for 
                        women with children, formerly incarcerated 
                        women, women with disabilities, and elderly 
                        women.
                            (ii) Legal representation for women with 
                        children and women 60 years of age and older 
                        facing eviction.
                            (iii) Homeownership assistance funds for 
                        Black women.
                    (B) Increasing accessibility and availability of 
                long-term neighborhood transitional and permanent 
                supportive housing for Black women reentering the 
                community following incarceration.
    (f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Task Force shall 
submit to Congress a report on--
            (1) the activities conducted under this section; and
            (2) the activities conducted under this section that are 
        ongoing or are in continuation of existing Federal programs, 
        including information on additional work undertaken in response 
        to duties of the Task Force under subsection (e).
    (g) Recommendations.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Task Force shall 
submit to Congress, the President, and to each chief executive of a 
State recommendations on policies, practices, programs, and incentives 
that may be adopted to improve outcomes for Black women and girls.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS REPORT ON ISSUES 
              IMPACTING BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS.

    (a) Duties.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter, the United States Commission on 
Civil Rights shall conduct a comprehensive study and collect data with 
respect to the effects on Black women and girls of the following:
            (1) The lack of contract opportunities with the Federal 
        Government for Black women.
            (2) The wage gap and pay equity for Black women in 
        comparison to other individuals.
            (3) The high maternal mortality rate and the steps needed 
        to reduce such rate.
            (4) The high infant mortality rate of Black girls.
            (5) The impact of screening for breast cancer at an earlier 
        age than 40 years of age for Black women.
            (6) The school-to-prison pipeline and its impact on Black 
        women and girls, including Black women and girls with 
        disabilities.
            (7) Housing stability, homelessness, and access to 
        affordable rental housing and home loans for Black women.
            (8) The prevalence and rate of violence, including intimate 
        partner violence and homicide, against Black women and girls, 
        including Black transgender women and girls, and the effect of 
        prevention strategies and barriers to service for such women 
        and girls.
            (9) Excessive use of force by law enforcement, including 
        when death results, against Black women and girls, including 
        Black transgender women and girls.
            (10) The over-incarceration of Black women and girls, 
        including Black transgender women and girls, in the juvenile 
        and adult justice system.
            (11) Establishing a moratorium on building new women's 
        prisons or jails.
            (12) Repealing of the Adoption Safe Families Act of 1997 
        (Public Law 105-89; 111 Stat. 2115).
            (13) Repealing any policy or law that creates barriers to 
        housing or precludes formerly incarcerated people from living 
        with family members in public or private housing.
            (14) Neighborhood family reunification support.
            (15) The high rate of sex trafficking of Black women and 
        girls, and the impact of State vacatur and expungement laws for 
        victims of human and sex trafficking.
            (16) Any additional items described in section 2(e) that 
        the Commission determines appropriate.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the United States Commission on 
Civil Rights shall submit to Congress, the President, and make publicly 
available online, a report outlining the Commission's activities and 
findings under subsection (a).
    (c) Information Sharing.--All relevant entities of the United 
States Government, including the Department of Justice, the Department 
of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the 
Department of Labor, and the National Institutes of Health, shall 
provide information to the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 
order for the Commission to carry out its duties under this section.
                                 <all>