African Descent Affairs Act of 2021
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
African Descent Affairs Act of 2021
This bill directs the Department of State to establish an Office of Global African Descent Affairs, to be headed by the Director and Special Envoy to the Secretary on Global African Descent Affairs.
The functions of the office shall include
directing policies, programs, and funding relating to the human rights and advancement of people of African descent internationally;
developing and managing the Fund for African Descent Affairs to invest in solutions to combat racial discrimination and create opportunities for people of African descent internationally;
directing U.S. government resources to support the protection, integration, resettlement, and empowerment of people of African descent; and
compiling an annual report on U.S. government activities relating to people of African descent.
The bill requires that a description of the status of the people of African descent in each country be included in a specified annual human rights report.
The U.S. Agency for International Development must appoint a Senior Advisor to the Administrator on Global African Descent Affairs who shall (1) direct policies, programs, and funding relating to the human rights and advancement of people of African descent internationally; and (2) develop a uniform set of indicators and standards for monitoring and evaluating foreign assistance for people of African descent.
The Office of Global African Descent Affairs must develop or update annually (for 10 years after the initial report) a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against people of African descent.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 18, 2021. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 18, 2021: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ALCEE HASTINGS (D-FL) introduced it on February 18, 2021, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 6 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 18, 2021, 2077 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2077 days ago, on February 18, 2021.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers