Press Releases
Washington, D.C. – Today, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, by a bipartisan vote of 236 to 181. The legislation is the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, empower our communities, and build trust between law enforcement and our communities by addressing systemic racism and bias to help save lives. Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-CA), Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 on June 8, 2020. The legislation has 231 cosponsors in the House and 36 cosponsors in the Senate.
Under the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, for the first time ever federal law would: 1) ban chokeholds; 2) end racial and religious profiling; 3) eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement; 4) establish national standard for the operation of police departments; 5) mandate data collection on police encounters; 6) reprogram existing funds to invest in transformative community-based po
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement regarding the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
"In recent months negotiations have stalled and there has been an escalation of tensions on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that impacts, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) encourages the continued cooperation and peaceful negotiations of all stakeholders in the construction of the GERD.
WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Karen Bass along with 26 of her colleagues sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, California Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon to endorse the California Act for Economic Prosperity, which would repeal Proposition 209 – a measure that bars affirmative action in public contracting, public employment, and public education.
“Twenty-four years ago, we went door to door, neighborhood to neighborhood, precinct to precinct, urging voters to turn out against the deception propagated by advocates of Proposition 209,” said Rep. Bass. “They called 209 a civil rights initiative. That was a lie.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement regarding the passing of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza.
"President Nkurunziza is a former university teacher, he served as the minister of good governance in a transitional administration, then eventually took up Burundi's highest post in 2005. I would like to offer my condolences to the family and citizens of the country on the loss of President Pierre Nkurunziza."
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, held a forum on Police Accountability in America. The forum comes just days after the Congressional Black Caucus and House and Senate Democrats unveiled the Justice in Policing Act, a bold reform to curb police brutality, end racial profiling, and eliminate qualified immunity.
- Connie Rice, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Advancement Project
- Darius Bellinger, CEO of Chasing23
- Alicia Garza, Co-Founded Black Lives Matter
- Raheem DeVaugh, Grammy nominated singer and songwriter
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-CA), Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and our communities.
Chair Bass: "What we are witnessing is the birth of a new movement in our country with thousands coming together in every state marching to demand a change that ends police brutality, holds police officers accountable, and calls for transparency.
Washington, D.C. – In response to the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, House Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) demanding prompt action, including the opening of pattern and practice investigations of police misconduct. The letter calls for the DOJ to investigate the prosecutors involved in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed African American man who was shot in cold blood while running in his neighborhood. The letter also calls for DOJ to open pattern and practice investigations into the police departments in Louisville, Kentucky, where Breonna Taylor was gunned down in her own home by police, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where George Floyd was killed after a police officer kneeled on his neck and body. The House Judiciary Committee will also be pursuing additional oversight and legislative action in June to address the series of racially motivated violence and unjust policing practices that have resulted in the deaths of Afric
Federal law prohibits any governmental authority from engaging in a “pattern or practice” of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives persons of their constitutional rights. This federal statute also authorizes the Attorney General to initiate a civil action to obtain appropriate equitable or declaratory relief to eliminate such a pattern or practice.
LOS ANGELES - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) issued the following statement on social media regarding the murder of George Floyd.
"This video shows George Floyd being slowly murdered by a police officer while a crowd of people watch. It’s consistent with US history. Black lives didn’t matter when our ancestors were enslaved. Black lives didn’t matter as we were lynched. We could not breathe on the boats. We could not breathe under trees. We cannot breathe with knees on our necks."
WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) sent a letter to the Secretary of the United States Treasury urging him to ease sanctions on Sudan and Zimbabwe in a manner designed to permit them to more adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full letter here.
WASHINGTON – On Friday, Rep. Karen Bass, co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, and Rep. Gwen Moore will introduce the Dosha Joi Immediate Coverage for Former Foster Youth Act in honor of “DJay”, a former foster youth who passed away last week due to complications with COVID-19. The bill would immediately ensure that eligible former foster youth have access to Medicaid until the age of 26. Because of recently passed legislation led by Rep. Bass and others, this Medicaid clarification will go into effect in January of 2023. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers are now fighting to accelerate the coverage in DJay’s honor.
“I first met DJay when he was in Washington, DC participating in our Foster Youth Shadow Day program,” said Rep. Bass “His smile lit up dim meeting rooms and his laugh bounded through sometimes-hollow hallways. He was an advocate through and through – a champion for health care reforms for current and former foster youth and other changes to our child welfare system.