Recognizing that the United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the crime of enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States.

A non-binding House statement that the U.S. owes reparations for slavery, with an apology — no money or law changes.

The details

Most people would see no change in daily life from this resolution. It would not pay anyone, spend money, or change any law. It would put the House on record saying the federal government owes reparations to Black Americans for slavery and its lasting harm. It says those reparations should come in all needed forms, including cash payments. The House would also apologize for slavery. It would urge Congress or the President to carry out H.R. 40. That bill would set up a commission to study and propose reparation plans. The resolution notes it has been introduced every year since 1989. It would also back a bill for a U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. It would encourage local, state, and federal efforts to look into reparations claims. Most of the text is a long list of reasons. It traces slavery here back to 1619, then on through Jim Crow laws, lynchings, and the 1921 Tulsa massacre. It says Black people were shut out of early Social Security and of G.I. Bill home loans. It cites an estimate of at least $16 trillion to close the wealth gap between Black and White Americans. The reasons also list ideas such as free tuition at historically Black colleges. None of those ideas or dollar figures are in the part the House would actually adopt. The resolution was introduced on May 15, 2025, and sent to the House Judiciary Committee.