Civil Rights Enforcement Agencies
Civil rights laws, once enacted by Congress, are meaningful only if they are duly enforced by the executive branch.
Various federal departments, agencies, and commissions are charged with investigating civil rights violations, redressing instances of discrimination, and providing guidance to individuals and businesses about their rights and responsibilities under the law. It's important that the individuals selected to lead these departments and agencies -- nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate -- are committed to fair and impartial enforcement of our nation's civil rights laws.
HHS Nominee Says Health Care Overhaul Cannot Wait
April 2, 2009 - Posted by Antoine Morris
Katherine Sebelius, nominee to be the next Secretary for Health and Human Services, expressed support for swift congressional action on health care reform during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing this week.
In her testimony, Sebelius said, "I think our current economic crisis presents the inevitability that we cannot wait. I believe, as the president has articulated over and over again, that we can't fix the economy of America without fixing the health care system." She added that overhauling the nation's health care system will require containing costs while also expanding coverage to more Americans.
The number of uninsured people has grown from 45 million in 2005 to 47 million in 2006 with nearly 11 percent of all Whites uninsured compared to more than 20 percent of all African Americans and 34 percent of all Hispanics, according to the Census Bureau.
The high number of uninsured people costs the U.S. billions every year, due to lost work time as well as many uninsured people's inability to take advantage of preventative health care services that would decrease the use of costly treatments later. An Institute of Medicine study estimates these losses at $65 billion to $130 billion each year.
Sebelius's confirmation hearing was today in the Senate Finance Committee. She must be confirmed by the full Senate before she assumes the post.
Link to this post
Improving the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
March 30, 2009 - Posted by Jenna Wandres
A new LCCREF report, "Restoring the Conscience of a Nation," examines the history of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and provides recommendations for improving the commission.
The commission was created with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 as an independent fact-finding body charged with investigating and reporting on civil rights and making recommendations to the federal government on how to fix the problems it uncovers.
In this video, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of LCCR; John Payton, director-counsel of the NAACP LDF; Catherine Powell, professor of law at Fordham University; and Julie Fernandes, principal at the Raben Group, talk about the role the commission has played in advancing civil rights over the last 50 years and explain why they've decided to provide Congress with recommendations for improving the commission.
Link to this post
Humphrey Award Honoree Gary Locke Nominated to be Commerce Secretary
February 26, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
 Gary Locke, former Washington governor and nominee for secretary of Commerce Yesterday, President Obama nominated former Washington Governor Gary Locke to be Secretary of Commerce.
Locke was governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005 and was the first Chinese-American governor in U.S. history. In 1999, LCCR honored Locke with its Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award for working to make Washington public schools the best in the nation, promoting jobs and economic development in rural and urban areas, and fighting juvenile crime.
The Department of Commerce is in charge of promoting the country's economic growth. The department's responsibilities include promoting international trade, issuing patents and trademarks, overseeing the census, and regulating television, cable, and radio.
Locke must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming the post.
Link to this post
Secretary of Agriculture Vows to Make Civil Rights a Priority
February 24, 2009 - Posted by Isha Mehmood
 A Black farmer plowing sweet potatoes in Laurel, Miss., in 1938. Black farmers in the South not only faced the normal hardships of a farmer's life, but also suffered discrimination from the USDA. Tom Vilsack, secretary of Agriculture, said Saturday that he will make civil rights a primary focus at the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Vilsack said that he wants to ensure that department's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR) is getting as much attention as other offices and plans to employ consultants to handle farmers' claims that USDA employees are discriminating against them. The OASCR is responsible for ensuring the department is complying with all federal civil rights and equal opportunity laws.
A number of reports have investigated the USDA's treatment of Black farmers. In 1982, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report that found "systemic racism" in the department. A 1997 USDA report found that the department frequently denied or delayed loans and federal support to Black farmers, causing many of them to lose their land and may have contributed to the dramatic decline in the number of minority farmers over several decades. In 1920, there were 925,000 Black farmers in the United States; by 1992, there were fewer than 18,000.
Link to this post
Attorney General Eric Holder Gives Black History Month Speech on Race
February 18, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
Eric Holder, the new U.S. attorney general, gave a speech on race in America at a Department of Justice Black History Month event today.
Check out the video or read the full prepared speech.
Link to this post
Obama Nominates Humphrey Award Recipient Tammy Duckworth to Veterans Affairs Position
February 3, 2009 - Posted by Corrine Yu
 President Barack Obama has nominated Iraq War veteran L. Tammy Duckworth to serve as the assistant secretary of public and intergovernmental affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 2007, Duckworth received the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights' Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award for her work on behalf of veterans and health care reform.
Duckworth, who currently serves as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, lost both of her legs in a 2004 helicopter accident while serving in Iraq. She received a Purple Heart and was promoted to the rank of major while still hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Hospital.
In 2006, Duckworth ran for an Illinois congressional seat, on a platform calling for equal access to health care, common-sense immigration reform, mandatory funding of veterans' health care, and improvements in transition assistance for those returning to civilian life, particularly for those with disabilities.
"Tammy Duckworth made the health and welfare of returning veterans a priority in her public service work," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson in announcing the award. "Her tireless efforts on behalf of children, families, and veterans embody the true spirit of civil rights and we are honored to celebrate her work."
The Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award was named for the former United States vice president, senator, and civil rights pioneer whose years of public service, leadership, and dedication to equal opportunity changed the face of America.
Link to this post
New Attorney General Faces Difficult Task of Restoring Integrity of Justice Department
February 2, 2009 - Posted by Maggie Owner
 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Today, Eric Holder was confirmed by the Senate to be attorney general (75-21), becoming the first African American to hold this position.
"The Senate's quick action puts in place a leader who can restore morale and return the Justice Department to its historic mission of impartial justice and law enforcement," said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of LCCR, in a statement.
During his confirmation hearings, Holder vowed to reform the Department of Justice, including its Civil Rights Division, which in recent years has been plagued with controversy over hiring policies and political interference in civil rights enforcement efforts. Holder called the Civil Rights Division the "conscience" of the Department and said he plans to revitalize the division.
Holder previously served as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, as well as a Superior Court judge and U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia.
Link to this post
Geithner Confirmed as Treasury Secretary; Calls for Plan to Address Foreclosures
January 27, 2009 - Posted by Marcus-Alexander Neil
 Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Tim Geithner was sworn in as treasury secretary yesterday evening having been confirmed earlier that day by the Senate in a 60 to 34 vote. As treasury secretary, Geithner will serve as the principle economic advisor to President Obama, advising him on how best to manage the federal government's economic policy, at a time when the nation is dealing with a mortgage crisis and a recession.
At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Geithner urged Congress to pass Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. The plan, outlined in Obama's first weekly address, will create three million new jobs, with just over 80 percent in the private sector, while also providing direct tax relief to 95 percent of American workers. Geithner called the plan "a critical part" of the solution to the nation's economic crisis but stressed that it had to be accompanied by "aggressive action to address the housing crisis and to get credit flowing again."
Geithner also noted that much of the problem with the nation's economy is related to "unprecedented foreclosure rates" and cited the need to provide a "comprehensive" plan for addressing the nation's housing crisis.
Video of the hearing (Real Player).
Link to this post
Holder Vows to End Politicization of Civil Rights Division
January 21, 2009 - Posted by Antoine Morris
 Eric Holder with President Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton at a Dec. 1 Obama-Biden press conference to announce national security nominees. Photo credit: Obama-Biden Transition Project under a Creative Commons Attribution license. Attorney General-designate Eric Holder Jr. vowed to end the politicization of the Civil Rights Division within the Justice Department if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. "The attempt to politicize the department will not be tolerated should I become attorney general of the United States," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee during his January 15 confirmation hearing.
For civil rights advocates, Holder's statements came as a welcome contrast to the recent politicization of the division, documented in a new report detailing how some of President Bush's appointees violated the law by hiring employees based on political affiliations for nonpolitical civil service jobs.
Read more >>
Link to this post
Senate Holding Confirmation Hearings on Obama Cabinet Nominees
January 12, 2009 - Posted by Clarissa Peterson
The Senate started confirmation hearings on Thursday for President-elect Obama's cabinet nominees.
Each nominee will have a hearing before the Senate committee relating to the position - for example, attorney general nominee Eric Holder will be heard by the Judiciary Committee, and education secretary nominee Arne Duncan will go before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The committees then vote on their nominees, and if they approve of a nominee, the full Senate will vote on that nomination.
Link to this post
|
|
|
|
