Title: Addressing the hardships and disparities faced by Black women in order to encourage more inclusive policymaking.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This resolution supports the need for and use of certain policy frameworks to incorporate the experiences of Black women into public policies.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1050 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1050

Addressing the hardships and disparities faced by Black women in order 
               to encourage more inclusive policymaking.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 7, 2022

Mrs. Watson Coleman (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Kelly of 
 Illinois, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Omar, Mrs. Lawrence, and Ms. Norton) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight 
                               and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Addressing the hardships and disparities faced by Black women in order 
               to encourage more inclusive policymaking.

Whereas throughout United States history, the country's economy was built in 
        large part upon Black women's diminished power, through unpaid, 
        exploited, and forced labor;
Whereas income gaps, wealth gaps, lack of adequate worker protection laws, and a 
        host of other socioeconomic indicators illustrate a system that has been 
        designed to keep Black women without power;
Whereas Black women made up 6.4 percent of the United States workforce in 2020, 
        but represent 10.4 percent of the workers who would benefit from raising 
        the minimum wage to just $15 an hour;
Whereas economic insecurity is intensified for Black women, who have little to 
        no wealth to fall back on due to generational inequality and ongoing 
        discrimination;
Whereas discriminatory features of the United States labor market and the 
        punitive design of public benefits programs hinder the economic mobility 
        of Black women with disabilities;
Whereas, in 2019, the median wealth for Black women was $1,700, while the median 
        wealth for White women was $81,200, and the median wealth for White men 
        was $78,200;
Whereas Black women's median annual earnings for full-time year-round work in 
        2020 was $43,209, while the median annual earning for a full-time, year-
        round White, non-Hispanic man was $67,629;
Whereas 4.7 percent of Black women overall report serious psychological 
        distress, and this rate nearly doubles for Black people living in 
        poverty;
Whereas studies show that Black women, whether insured or uninsured, receive 
        worse care by health care professionals, often at the expense of their 
        lives;
Whereas, in 2020, more than 30 percent of Black women relied on Medicaid as 
        their primary source of health coverage;
Whereas Black women have been denied access to safe and affordable housing 
        through the current rental housing market and Federal housing assistance 
        programs;
Whereas racist and sexist Federal policies have denied Black women access to 
        safe and affordable housing in both home ownership and rental markets, 
        rendering them more likely to be cost-burdened and face eviction;
Whereas Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan 
        debt than White college graduates;
Whereas Black women are less likely to have wealth, to own a home, to hold 
        retirement savings, and to receive inheritances and other family 
        financial support;
Whereas guaranteed income, direct cash transfers, hazard pay, an increase in 
        worker power, sectoral worker bargaining, and stronger labor law 
        protection can benefit the economic well-being of marginalized 
        demographics, specifically Black women;
Whereas policymakers must provide robust, permanent, dedicated funding for home 
        and community-based services to protect the right of Black women with 
        disabilities to receive care within their homes and communities;
Whereas Black women not only need access to health care providers that value 
        their identity, but also providers who look like them to improve Black 
        women's access to quality care;
Whereas we must eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline for Black girls and 
        prioritize restorative justice in lieu of policing in schools and our 
        communities to promote equitable academic success;
Whereas expanding the child tax credit and earned income tax credit, 
        incentivizing State tax changes, and strengthening the estate tax can 
        assist in centering Black women in tax reform;
Whereas critical legislation such as H.R. 6268, the Protect Black Women and 
        Girls Act, establishes a Task Force to examine the conditions and 
        experiences of Black women and girls to identify and assess the efficacy 
        of policies and programs designed to improve outcomes for Black women; 
        and
Whereas the Black Women Best (BWB) framework, as designed by Janelle Jones, 
        offers the blueprint to adopt a more innovative and equitable approach 
        to center the lived experiences of Black women in policymaking: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the need to use policy frameworks similar to 
        the Black Women Best (BWB) framework to center the lived 
        experience of Black women in the policymaking process in order 
        to ensure a more equal and just future for all;
            (2) encourages the use of this framework and those that 
        complement it as a guideline to create and implement better 
        public policies to benefit all people, and specifically Black 
        women; and
            (3) considers legislative proposals presented in the 
        Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls March report, 
        ``An Economy for All: Building a `Black Women Best' Legislative 
        Agenda'' to repair the historical disparities that Black women 
        endure and to secure an economy that works for everyone.
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