S. 2163 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 

An Act 

To establish the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, to 

study and make recommendations to address social problems affecting Black 

men and boys, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on the Social Status 

of Black Men and Boys Act’’. 

SEC. 2. COMMISSION ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commission on the Social Status of 

Black Men and Boys (hereinafter in this Act referred to as ‘‘the 

Commission’’) is established within the United States Commission 

on Civil Rights Office of the Staff Director. 

(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall consist of 19 members 

appointed as follows: 

(1) The Senate majority leader shall appoint one member 

who is not employed by the Federal Government and is an 

expert on issues affecting Black men and boys in America. 

(2) The Senate minority leader shall appoint one member 

who is not employed by the Federal Government and is an 

expert on issues affecting Black men and boys in America. 

(3) The House of Representatives majority leader shall 

appoint one member who is not employed by the Federal 

Government and is an expert on issues affecting Black men 

and boys in America. 

(4) The House of Representatives minority leader shall 

appoint one member who is not employed by the Federal 

Government and is an expert on issues affecting Black men 

and boys in America. 

(5) The Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus shall 

be a member of the Commission, as well as 5 additional Members of the Congressional Black Caucus who shall be individuals 

that either sit on the following committees of relevant jurisdiction or are experts on issues affecting Black men and boys 

in the United States, including— 

(A) education; 

(B) justice and Civil Rights; 

(C) healthcare; 

(D) labor and employment; and 

(E) housing. 

(6) The Staff Director of the United States Commission 

on Civil Rights shall appoint one member from within the 
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staff of the United States Commission on Civil Rights who 

is an expert in issues relating to Black men and boys. 

(7) The Chair of the United States Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission shall appoint one member from within 

the staff of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity 

Commission who is an expert in equal employment issues 

impacting Black men. 

(8) The Secretary of Education shall appoint one member 

from within the Department of Education who is an expert 

in urban education. 

(9) The Attorney General shall appoint one member from 

within the Department of Justice who is an expert in racial 

disparities within the criminal justice system. 

(10) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 

appoint one member from within the Department of Health 

and Human Services who is an expert in health issues facing 

Black men. 

(11) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

shall appoint one member from within the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development who is an expert in housing 

and development in urban communities. 

(12) The Secretary of Labor shall appoint one member 

from within the Department of Labor who is an expert in 

labor issues impacting Black men. 

(13) The President of the United States shall appoint 2 

members who are not employed by the Federal Government 

and are experts on issues affecting Black men and boys in 

America. 

(c) MEMBERSHIP BY POLITICAL PARTY.—If after the Commission 

is appointed there is a partisan imbalance of Commission members, 

the congressional leaders of the political party with fewer members 

on the Commission shall jointly name additional members to create 

partisan parity on the Commission. 

SEC. 3. OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO APPOINTMENT; REMOVAL. 

(a) TIMING OF INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Each initial appointment to the Commission shall be made no later than 90 days 

after the Commission is established. If any appointing authorities 

fail to appoint a member to the Commission, their appointment 

shall be made by the Staff Director of the Commission on Civil 

Rights. 

(b) TERMS.—Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 

term of a member of the Commission shall be 4 years. For the 

purpose of providing staggered terms, the first term of those members initially appointed under paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 

2 shall be appointed to 2-year terms with all other terms lasting 

4 years. Members are eligible for consecutive reappointment. 

(c) REMOVAL.—A member of the Commission may be removed 

from the Commission at any time by the appointing authority 

should the member fail to meet Commission responsibilities. Once 

the seat becomes vacant, the appointing authority is responsible 

for filling the vacancy in the Commission before the next meeting. 

(d) VACANCIES.—The appointing authority of a member of the 

Commission shall either reappoint that member at the end of that 

member’s term or appoint another person meeting the qualifications 

for that appointment. In the event of a vacancy arising during 
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a term, the appointing authority shall, before the next meeting 

of the Commission, appoint a replacement to finish that term. 

SEC. 4. LEADERSHIP ELECTION. 

At the first meeting of the Commission each year, the members 

shall elect a Chair and a Secretary. A vacancy in the Chair or 

Secretary shall be filled by vote of the remaining members. The 

Chair and Secretary are eligible for consecutive reappointment. 

SEC. 5. COMMISSION DUTIES AND POWERS. 

(a) STUDY.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall conduct a systematic study of the conditions affecting Black men and boys, 

including homicide rates, arrest and incarceration rates, poverty, violence, fatherhood, mentorship, drug abuse, death rates, 

disparate income and wealth levels, school performance in all 

grade levels including postsecondary education and college, and 

health issues. 

(2) TRENDS.—The Commission shall document trends 

regarding the topics described in paragraph (1) and report 

on the community impacts of relevant government programs 

within the scope of such topics. 

(b) PROPOSAL OF MEASURES.—The Commission shall propose 

measures to alleviate and remedy the underlying causes of the 

conditions described in subsection (a), which may include recommendations of changes to the law, recommendations for how 

to implement related policies, and recommendations for how to 

create, develop, or improve upon government programs. 

(c) SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS.—The Commission shall 

accept suggestions or comments pertinent to the applicable issues 

from members of Congress, governmental agencies, public and private organizations, and private citizens. 

(d) STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Office of the 

Staff Director of the United States Commission on Civil Rights 

shall provide staff and administrative support to the Commission. 

All entities of the United States Government shall provide information that is otherwise a public record at the request of the Commission. 

SEC. 6. COMMISSION MEETING REQUIREMENTS. 

(a) FIRST MEETING.—The first meeting of the Commission shall 

take place no later than 30 days after the initial members are 

all appointed. Meetings shall be focused on significant issues 

impacting Black men and boys, for the purpose of initiating research 

ideas and delegating research tasks to Commission members to 

initiate the first annual report described in section 7. 

(b) QUARTERLY MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet quarterly. In addition to all quarterly meetings, the Commission shall 

meet at other times at the call of the Chair or as determined 

by a majority of Commission members. 

(c) QUORUM; RULE FOR VOTING ON FINAL ACTIONS.—A majority 

of the members of the Commission constitute a quorum, and an 

affirmative vote of a majority of the members present is required 

for final action. 

(d) EXPECTATIONS FOR ATTENDANCE BY MEMBERS.—Members 

are expected to attend all Commission meetings. In the case of 

an absence, members are expected to report to the Chair prior 

to the meeting and allowance may be made for an absent member 
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to participate remotely. Members will still be responsible for fulfilling prior commitments, regardless of attendance status. If a 

member is absent twice in a given year, he or she will be reviewed 

by the Chair and appointing authority and further action will 

be considered, including removal and replacement on the Commission. 

(e) MINUTES.—Minutes shall be taken at each meeting by the 

Secretary, or in that individual’s absence, the Chair shall select 

another Commission member to take minutes during that absence. 

The Commission shall make its minutes publicly available and 

accessible not later than one week after each meeting. 

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT GUIDELINES. 

The Commission shall make an annual report, beginning the 

year of the first Commission meeting. The report shall address 

the current conditions affecting Black men and boys and make 

recommendations to address these issues. The report shall be submitted to the President, the Congress, members of the President’s 

Cabinet, and the chairs of the appropriate committees of jurisdiction. The Commission shall make the report publicly available 

online on a centralized Federal website. 

SEC. 8. COMMISSION COMPENSATION. 

Members of the Commission shall serve on the Commission 

without compensation. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.