SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on the 
Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) On March 2, 1807, President Thomas Jef-
ferson signed into law a bill approved by the Con-
gress ‘‘An Act to prohibit the importation of slaves 
into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the 
United States’’ (hereinafter in this Act referred to 
as the ‘‘1808 Transatlantic Slave Trade Act’’) and 
made it unlawful ‘‘to import or bring into the United 
States or territories thereof from any foreign king-
dom, place or country, any negro, mulatto, or person 
of colour, with intent to hold, sell, or dispose of 
such. . .as a slave, or to be held to service or 
labour’’. 
(2) Article I, Section 9 of the United States 
Constitution clearly spelled out that the inter-
national slave trade could not be banned before 
1808, and it is only on January 1, 1808, that the 
1808 Transatlantic Slave Trade Act went into effect. 
(3) An Act entitled ‘‘An Act to continue in 
force ‘An act to protect the commerce of the United 
States, and punish the crime of piracy,’ and also to 
make further provisions for punishing the crime of
piracy’’, enacted May 15, 1820, made it unlawful for 
any citizen of the United States to engage ‘‘in the 
slave trade, or. . ., being of the crew or ship’s com-
pany of any foreign ship. . ., seize any negro or mu-
latto. . .with the intent to make. . .a slave. . .or forcibly 
bring . . .on board any such ship....’’. 
(4) The transatlantic slave trade entailed the 
kidnapping, purchase, and commercial export of Af-
ricans, mostly from West and Central Africa, to the 
European colonies and new nations in the Americas, 
including the United States, where they were 
enslaved in forced labor between the 15th and mid- 
19th centuries. 
(5) The term ‘‘Middle Passage’’ refers to the 
horrific part of the transatlantic slave trade when 
millions of Africans were chained together and 
stowed by the hundreds in overcrowded ships where 
they were forced into small spaces for months with-
out relief as they were transported across the Atlan-
tic Ocean to the Americas. 
(6) During the Middle Passage, enslaved Afri-
cans resisted their enslavement through non-violent 
and violent means, including hunger strikes, suicide, 
and shipboard revolts, the most historically-recog-
nized events taking place on board the Don Carlos 
in 1732 and on board the Amistad in 1839. 
(7) Scholars estimate that, at a minimum, be-
tween 10,000,000 and 15,000,000 Africans survived 
the Middle Passage, were imported as chattel 
through customs houses and ports across the Amer-
icas, and were sold into slavery. 
(8) The thirteenth amendment to the Constitu-
tion of the United States recognizes that ‘‘Neither 
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pun-
ishment for crime whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, 
or any place subject to their jurisdiction.’’. 
(9) The slave trade and the legacy of slavery 
continue to have a profound impact on social and 
economic disparity, hatred, bias, racism, and dis-
crimination, and continue to affect people in the 
Americas, particularly those of African descent. 
(10) In 2007, the British Parliament marked 
the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave 
trade in the former British Empire with plans 
launched by the Department for Education and 
Skills which provided joint funding of £910,000 
($1,800,000) for the Understanding Slavery Initia-
tive, and the Heritage Lottery Fund announced
awards of over £20,000,000 ($40,000,000) for 
projects to commemorate the anniversary. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-
lish the Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic 
Slave Trade to— 
(1) ensure a suitable national observance of the 
bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the 
transatlantic slave trade by sponsoring and sup-
porting commemorative programs; 
(2) cooperate with and assist programs and ac-
tivities throughout the United States in observance 
of the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of 
the transatlantic slave trade; 
(3) assist in ensuring that the observations of 
the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the 
transatlantic slave trade are inclusive and appro-
priately recognize the experiences of all people dur-
ing this period in history; 
(4) support and facilitate international involve-
ment in observances of the bicentennial anniversary 
of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade; and 
(5) study the impact of the transatlantic slave 
trade on the United States and the Americas.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 
There is established a commission to be known as the 
‘‘Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave 
Trade’’ (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP, DUTIES, AND RELATED MATTERS. 
(a) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.— 
(A) The Commission shall be composed of 
9 members, of whom— 
(i) 3 shall be appointed by the Speak-
er of the House of Representatives; 
(ii) 2 shall be appointed by the major-
ity leader of the Senate; 
(iii) 2 shall be appointed by the mi-
nority leader of the House of Representa-
tives; and 
(iv) 2 shall be appointed by the minor-
ity leader of the Senate. 
(B) Each appointing authority described in 
subparagraph (A) shall appoint the initial mem-
bers of the Commission not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Com-
mission shall be individuals with demonstrated ex-
pertise or experience in the study and program fa-
cilitation on the transatlantic slave trade and the in-