BRENDA LAWRENCE

Rep. Rashida Tlaib says she will seek reelection in a new Detroit-area seat created through redistricting, an announcement that came hours after fellow Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence said she will retire from Congress.

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence says she plans to retire from Congress at the end of her term, becoming the 25th House Democrat to decide against seeking reelection in 2022.

Congressional leaders and a media advocacy group are urging the Federal Communications Commission to examine how policy decisions and programs have disparately harmed Black Americans and other communities of color, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the acting FCC chair. In the letter, first shared with The Associated Press, Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Yvette Clarke of New York, and Brenda Lawrence of Michigan along with Media 2070 said the FCC should conduct an assessment to “address and redress” the harm the agency’s policies and programs have caused Black and brown communities and identify the “affirmative steps the agency commits to taking to break down barriers to just media and telecommunication practices.” The FCC is an independent governmental agency that is responsible for regulating the nation’s communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable.

Many Republican lawmakers cited concerns over the actual name of the holiday and whether it conflates with the July 4th federal holiday.

The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery.

President Joe Biden has signed legislation Thursday establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, saying he believes it will go down as one of the greatest honors he has as president.

Lawmakers from both parties say once-stalled legislation on Capitol Hill that would change the nation's policing laws is now closer than ever to consensus.

Bolstered with new momentum, Congress is ready to try again to change the nation’s policing laws.

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedaU.S. rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) will chair the Congressional Black Caucus for the 117th Congress. The announcement came as the CBC embarks on its 50th anniversary as the voice of Black America in Congress. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, who represents Michigan’s 14th district and currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Oversight and Reform Committee, was tapped as 2nd Vice-Chair. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents Texas’s 18th district and currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee, Homeland Security Committee, and the Budget Committee, will serve as Parliamentarian. Though small in numbers, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) founders understood their responsibility for the millions of voices they represented, Congresswoman Bass noted.

Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, both former presidential candidates, are expected to announce a package in coming days, with a House bill coming soon. Both the Senate and House efforts are expected to include changes to police accountability laws, such as revising immunity provisions, and creating a database of police use-of-force incidents. We have a moral moment in our country, Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the CBC, said on a conference call Wednesday. With Democrats in the majority, the bills will almost certainly pass the House. She acknowledged the opposition the bills will likely face, but called on fellow lawmakers to consider the option of doing nothing.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - A congressional delegation led by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., toured the nation's largest child migrant detention center in Homestead. Wilson was joined by U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., and several Democratic House members Tuesday as they got a firsthand look at the conditions under which the young migrants are living. The Democratic presidential candidates who were in Miami for last week's debates had also ventured to the Homestead facility. After their tour, Wilson and her colleagues had less to say about what they saw inside the facility and more about what they want, which is to get the facility closed down. We only see them coming," protester Tina Marie Davidson said outside the Homestead facility.