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New Bill Would Create Cabinet-level Department to Wage “War on Racism”
By Luis Miguel
House Democrats seek to pass a bill that would launch an “unconditional war on racism” while creating a new federal agency known as the “Department of Reconciliation.”
“Declaring unconditional war on racism and invidious discrimination and providing for the establishment of a Cabinet-level Department of Reconciliation charged with eliminating racism and invidious discrimination,” reads a summary of the bill, H.Res. 919.
Since being introduced last week, over 30 House Democrats have signed onto the bill. Co-sponsors include Representatives Ilhan Omar, Maxine Waters, Rashida Tlaib, and January 6 Commission Chairman Bennie Thompson. The bill has now been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
The bill claims the United States is guilty of institutionalized racism and then outlines a number of potential solutions:
Whereas racism and invidious discrimination — like poverty in 1964 — remain pervasive in our country; Whereas history is replete with examples of victims of racism and invidious discrimination being denied life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; Whereas systemic and institutionalized racism and invidious discrimination exist in virtually all areas of American life, including policing, criminal justice, housing, banking, voting, employment, education, the environment, and health care…
Moreover, the bill invokes the death of George Floyd, pointing to it as a sign that Congress must take definitive action to end racism and “invidious discrimination” in the country.
To combat the alleged widespread racism, the bill would have the House “declare unconditional war on racism and invidious discrimination in America and will provide the resources and funding for their defeat.”
The budget of the new Department of Reconciliation would be at least 10 percent of the Defense Department’s budget, which presently totals roughly $715 billion.
This proposal appears to be in line with demands from “anti-racist” activist Ibram X. Kendi, who called for the creation of a Department of Anti-Racism (DOA).
“The DOA would be responsible for preclearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won’t yield racial inequity, monitor those policies, investigate private racist policies when racial inequity surfaces, and monitor public officials for expressions of racist ideas. The DOA would be empowered with disciplinary tools to wield over and against policymakers and public officials who do not voluntarily change their racist policy and ideas,” Kendi said.
This isn’t the first time Democrats have proposed creating governmental bodies specifically aimed at cracking down on “racism.”
Amid the Black Lives Matter-driven protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, congressional Democrats floated the idea of creating a “truth commission” to “examine the effects of slavery, institutional racism, and discrimination against people of color.”
The Washington Post notes:
Most U.S. truth commissions have been at the city level — such as the ones in Boston, Detroit and Greensboro, N.C. The 2004 commission in Greensboro investigated the 1979 “Greensboro massacre,” where white supremacists killed five anti-Ku Klux Klan protesters and wounded 10 others.
… The United States has held just one national-level commission. In 1980, Congress set up the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to study the relocation and internment of Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans during World War II. The investigation led to reparations, a public apology from Congress and education initiatives.
Would creating a Cabinet-level department focused on racism be dangerous? Considering that every governmental agency and department is inevitably politicized by those in power, there’s no doubt this would be the case with the Department of Reconciliation.
Who would determine what is “racist?” There’s no doubt that racism would come to apply to any individual, organization, policy or idea Democrats don’t like.
Trump? Racist. Tea Party? Racist. Moms for Liberty? Racist. Medical freedom? Racist.
Democrats’ proposed anti-racism department would be a vehicle for political persecution from Day 1. As if it weren’t enough that the Left has already weaponized the DOJ against conservative America, now they want a permanent executive-branch department whose only focus is to silence constitutional voices.
Congress must do the right thing and shut down this proposed witch-hunting expedition before it’s allowed to get off the ground.