119-hr3974

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3974 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3974

 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

 June 12, 2025

Ms. Kelly of Illinois (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs. Watson 
 Coleman, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. McClellan, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mrs. 
 Beatty, Ms. Brown, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Norton, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. 
Strickland, and Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
to the Committees on Education and 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.
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