Addressing Racial Injustice
The United States has a painful history of racial injustice that has persisted centuries after the days of institutionalized slavery. Since then, discriminatory policies in Jim Crow laws, segregation, redlining, and gerrymandering have upheld racial hierarchies and power imbalances.
While many of these practices are dismissed as part of our nation’s history, racial inequities continue to plague our nation and harm communities of color. To this day, Black Americans face glaring disparities in health care, education, housing, environmental justice, and a fair criminal justice system. As a community, a Commonwealth, and a country, we cannot afford to ignore the consequences of these inequities on communities of color.
Congresswoman Trahan is working to ensure that action to address racial injustice permeates all of our policy discussions and results in a more equitable and just America.
Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act
Every pregnant woman deserves quality, affordable healthcare, but enduring inequities in our healthcare system have disproportionately put the lives of Black moms at risk. Congresswoman Trahan cosponsored the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act to ensure that Black women, who experience maternal death at a rate three to four times higher than white women, are given the treatment and care they need.
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
The recurrence of police brutality and the use of excessive force is a life-threatening issue that disproportionately harms Black Americans. Congresswoman Trahan joined her colleagues in passing the historic George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to set nationwide standards for policing and help rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The act takes numerous key steps to achieve transformative, structural change to combat the pattern of police brutality.
Strength in Diversity Act
Congresswoman Trahan is a cosponsor of the Strength in Diversity Act. This bill directs the Department of Education to award grants to specified educational agencies in order to develop or implement plans to improve diversity and eliminate racial or socioeconomic isolation in publicly funded early childhood education programs, public elementary schools, or public secondary schools.
Black History is American History Act
Congresswoman Trahan is a cosponsor of the Black History is American History Act, which would add Black history as a required component of the American History and Civics Academies’ competitive grant programs, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
Resolution for 2020 Observance of Juneteenth Independence
Congresswoman Trahan is a cosponsor of a Resolution for 2020 Observation of Juneteenth Independence. This resolution recognizes Juneteenth (June 19th) as a national holiday. The holiday would recognize the day in 1865 when Union Army Major General Gordon Granger informed slaves in Galveston, Texas that they were free - two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Justice in Policing Act of 2020
The recurrence of police brutality and the use of excessive force is a life-threatening issue that has gone unaddressed for far too long. Recent killings of Black men, women, and children at the hands of law enforcement have ignited nationwide protests as Americans demand change. Congresswoman Trahan is proud to be an original cosponsor of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020. This landmark legislation, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support on June 25, 2020, was developed under the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus. The bill addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability.
Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act
Congresswoman Trahan is a cosponsor of the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, legislation that would authorize the creation of a Federal Commission to study slavery, its consequences, and develop appropriate remedies for Congress to consider and enact.
Renaming Military Bases
The House Armed Services Committee argued its way through its version of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill on July 1, 2020, ultimately approving the annual legislation 56-0. In this legislation was a key amendment renaming Confederate- named bases within one year of the legislation passing. As we grapple with our nation’s painful history, we must acknowledge the history of the confederacy is centered on slavery. These changes are long overdue, but will dictate the culture of our US military.
Law Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Response Act
Congresswoman Trahan is a cosponsor of the Law Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Response Act, a bill that provides grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to obtain behavioral health crisis response training for their officers. The bill would also provide funding for law enforcement training to ensure that officers are better equipped to recognize, deescalate, and respond to individuals experiencing mental health crises.
Congresswoman Trahan and her daughters protesting against racial injustice in their hometown of Westford, MA.
The Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Resolution
Congresswoman Trahan is a proud cosponsor of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Resolution. This resolution looks to change the way Americans think about issues of racism by dismantling a hierarchy of human value based on superficial physical characteristics, such as skin color and facial features. Specifically, this resolution proposes a U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation to properly acknowledge, memorialize, and catalyze progress.
Additional Supported Legislation
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only*
* indicates the Congresswoman is an Original Cosponsor of that legislation.