Thursday, June 04, 2020
PMT: H.R. 40
My dad did the portrait above of longtime Detroit Congressman John Conyers. Among other things, Conyers was the champion of H.R. 40, a bill he introduced every session but never passed. Now is the time to do that.
In short, H.R. 40 calls for a commission to study the idea of reparations for African-Americans based on slavery and its legacy in our society. It doesn't create reparations, or mandate them-- just sets up a mechanism to study them and create a proposal or proposals. Here is the gist of it:
This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. Among other requirements, the commission shall identify (1) the role of federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African-Americans and society.
My friend and mentor Nkechi Taifa has promoted H.R. 40 for years, and convinced me long ago of its wisdom. Now, the nation seems ready to have this discussion.
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Never have understood why simply exploring a topic could not be approved. A Waco Farmer is right: an honest, data-driven discussion is called for. In the health care field, it's called "evidence-based." There's an overwhelming amount of evidence to base the discussion on. The bill should be passed.
I was a Congressional Science fellow in 1977-78, and had the pleasure of meeting many of my heroes then, and many who became heroes later. High point was discovering a section of law that allowed the Secretary of HEW (then) to appoint a funding test oversight committee to determine whether a new kind of treatment or management would be a more effective treatment or a most cost-effective means of managing a health problem. So the Congressman and I put together a memo to Secretary Califano through the HEW legislative counsel. At a subsequent hearing on the HEW programs for the next fiscal year, Califano added to his usual material: " Congressman Walgren, you will be pleased to know that this morning I appointed a funding test committee to determine whether Hospice care should be funded under Medicare and Medicaid. By six months, it was clear that it was cost-effective, as well as more humane, that standard treatment in and out of hospitals to demonstrate that a terminal cancer was the cause of the pain experienced by the patient.
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