Title: 21st Century Respect Act
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
21st Century Respect Act
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to change the terminology used to describe the racial background or place of origin of people in regulations concerning: (1) USDA programs for financing and insuring loans for properties in rural areas, and (2) the 1974 development plan for Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 995 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 995

    To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
       Interior to amend regulations for racial appropriateness.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 2017

  Mr. Jeffries (for himself and Mr. Chabot) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
     addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
       Interior to amend regulations for racial appropriateness.

    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 ``21st Century Respect Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO REGULATIONS REQUIRED.

    (a) Secretary of Agriculture.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
amend section 1901.202 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, for 
purposes of--
            (1) replacing the reference to the term ``Negro or Black'' 
        with ``Black or African American'';
            (2) replacing the reference to the term ``Spanish Surname'' 
        with ``Hispanic''; and
            (3) replacing the reference to the term ``Oriental'' with 
        ``Asian American or Pacific Islander''.
    (b) Secretary of the Interior.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
amend section 906.2 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, for 
purposes of--
            (1) replacing the references to the term ``Negro'' with 
        ``Black or African American'';
            (2) replacing the definition of ``Negro'' with the 
        definition of ``Black or African American'' as ``a person 
        having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa'';
            (3) replacing the references to the term ``Oriental'' with 
        ``Asian American or Pacific Islander'';
            (4) replacing the references to the terms ``Eskimo'' and 
        ``Aleut'' to ``Alaska Native''; and
            (5) replacing the definition of ``Eskimo'' and ``Aleut'' to 
        have the same meaning as the term ``Native'' has in section 
        3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
        1602(b)).
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