US House panel studies slavery reparations ahead of key vote

WASHINGTON: A US congressional panel was poised Wednesday to consider federal slavery reparation payments to African Americans, ahead of a historic first vote on an issue gaining momentum during the nation's racial reckoning.

The House Judiciary Committee was expected to debate late into the night on a bill that would create a commission to study and develop reparation proposals for Black people.

But it faces major challenges in a closely divided Congress, where no Republicans have joined the more than 150 Democratic sponsors of the measure.

The first version was introduced more than 30 years ago but never advanced.

It addresses the period of slavery and discrimination in the United States from 1619 to the present day, and would establish a commission that will study and propose remedies including financial reparations.

House Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, the bill's chief sponsor, said such a commission was long overdue.

"Through this legislation, we will finally be able to confront the stark societal disparities occurring in the African-American community today and provide solutions," she said in a statement.

Lee was among several members of the Congressional Black Caucus who met Tuesday with President Joe Biden, in part to discuss the study of reparations.

"He is committed" to the bill, she told reporters.

Wednesday's congressional debate comes during the high-profile trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with the murder of George Floyd.

The African-American man's death last May triggered nationwide protests highlighting the country's racial injustice.

It also follows the police shooting death Sunday of another Black man near Minneapolis, whom the police force say was killed by accident when an officer intending to use her taser instead used her handgun.