U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) has become the lone member of the Virginia congressional delegation to sign on to a proposed congressional resolution aimed at setting up a national Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Commission.
It’s likely supporters don’t have their hopes up, even if they actually are seeking to move the measure through Congress rather than simply make a political point. All 80 cosponsors of the bill are Democrats, meaning it has zero chance of winning passage, or perhaps even getting a hearing, in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
The measure is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). It has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
The proposal from Rep. Barbara Lee is seen as complementary to a measure from U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), introduced in January, to begin a study of reparations for African-Americans.
That measure, also likely destined to go nowhere for the next two years at least, has picked up 94 cosponsors, but neither Beyer nor any other member of the Virginia delegation is among them.
