Texas lawmakers are trying to block federal funding for states that create laws to pay reparations for slavery. Five-term U.S. Rep. Brian Babin introduced H.R.4321 on June 23 with 13 co-sponsors.
“American taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for radical, race-based ‘reparation’ payments to please the woke Left,” Babin told Fox News.
The bill would prohibit the federal government from providing financial assistance to states, local counties, and municipalities that approve reparations laws. Among the bill’s 13 co-sponsors are other Texas Republicans in the House.
“My bill ensures that government entities enacting reparation laws based on race, ethnicity, national origin, or slavery cannot receive federal bailouts,” Babin said.
The bill comes just a few months after Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat representing a Houston-area district, re-introduced H.R.40 this past January. The bill would establish a federal commission, study the impacts of slavery and develop reparation proposals for Black Americans. H.R. 40 was first introduced in 1989 and has stalled in Congress for well over 30 years.
Babin’s bill also comes as California finalizes a reparations proposal for Black residents. Funds to residents in Evanston, Illinois have already distributed through its Restorative Housing Fund. Black residents of Evanston who lived there between 1919 and 1969 are eligible for a grant of $25,000 through the fund, which provides them with housing upgrades, mortgage assistance, or down payments.
No action has been taken on H.R.4321, but it has been referred to the Oversight and Accountability Committee.