WASHINGTON — Neither chamber of Congress passed any significant civil rights legislation last year, according to an analysis of the legislative record and votes from the first session of the 118th Congress by a coalition of civil rights groups.
Civil and Human Rights Leaders Conference Voting register The report found that the lack of congressional action on civil rights legislation “is due in large part to a deeply divided Congress that lacks bipartisan support for civil rights legislation.”
“This is one of the few first sessions of Congress in recent history in which neither chamber passed significant civil rights legislation, as measured by our voting records,” says the report, which has tracked civil rights legislation since 1969. The report ranks the votes of each member of the House and Senate on bills deemed significant by the conference.
In the current Congress, Republicans control the House, 219-213, and Democrats, along with independents, have a slim majority in the Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris often has to travel to the U.S. Capitol to cast tiebreaking votes in the Senate.
As the report notes, such a tiny majority makes it challenging to pass laws.
“This comes as our democracy faces a pivotal year and amid ongoing attacks on hard-won rights and protections — and diversity and inclusion policies and programs — that make us a more cohesive, effective, and equitable society for all,” the report reads.
This Voting register Nine votes in the House of Representatives and 34 in the Senate from January to December 2023 were analyzed.
“Our voting records have made clear that Congress is more divided than the country in the face of attacks on democracy,” Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement Tuesday. “Congress is paralyzed because too many lawmakers are failing to protect our fundamental rights and freedoms.”
The last time Congress passed a civil rights bill was in 2022, for example Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act of 2022 makes it lynching is a federal crime. The act was named after 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was kidnapped and murdered in Mississippi by two white men in 1955.
One of the most crucial pieces of civil rights legislation that Congress has tried and failed to pass is the restoration of part of the Voting Rights Act, named for the overdue Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon and voting rights advocate. The obstacle is the Senate, which needs 60 votes to pass the bill.
The report noted that while Congress has made little progress in passing civil rights legislation this session, the Senate has confirmed a significant number of people from diverse backgrounds to serve as judges, particularly women and people of color.
“In the Senate, faced with a filibuster and limited time on the legislative calendar, Senate leadership prioritized the president’s nominees — leading to the confirmation of highly qualified and diverse federal judges but limiting public access to debates on important civil and human rights issues on the national stage,” the report said.
The conference report goes on to say that the novel judges “will have a beneficial impact on our legal system, including with respect to the interpretation of laws and principles relating to civil and human rights, that will be felt for decades to come.”
More than two thirds The Biden administration has appointed women and people of color to federal judgeships, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. statistics from the Federal Judicial Center in November.
The report also raised concerns about legislation passed by the House of Representatives that would restrict rights in the chamber, but the bills have not been considered by the Senate and their future in this country is uncertain.
Some of these bills include: HR5, Parents Bill of Rights Act of 2023, which codifies federal education law to ensure parents and legal guardians have access to school curricula and school library books; HR 734, Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act, which prohibits transgender students from participating in girls’ sports; and HR 2, Border Security Act, restore Trump-era immigration policies.
“With the second session of the 118th Congress now underway, we do not anticipate a dramatic change in the legislative landscape,” the report reads. “We certainly expect the Senate to continue to prioritize the confirmation of federal judges.”
