Rush acts to extend civil rights ‘cold case’ term

From staff reports

A bill that would extend the term of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board by three years was recently introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-1^st).

Established by the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act, which Rush introduced the House companion for and which was signed into law in 2019, the Board is tasked with examining unsolved murders of African Americans during the civil rights era, specifically, between 1940 and 1979.

U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush

The Board is responsible for facilitating the release to the public of cold case documents in order to promote accountability and long-overdue justice for victims and their families.

Former President Trump signed the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act into law in 2019; however, despite the law stipulating that the President nominate members to the Board “not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act,” Trump never nominated a single member to the Board during his time in office, Rush said.

President Biden nominated members to the Board soon after assuming office. The nominees received a Senate hearing earlier this year but have not yet been confirmed by the Senate. Currently, the Review Board is authorized to work through 2024. Rush’s Civil Rights Cold Case Investigations Support Act of 2022 (H.R. 6818) would extend their term through 2027 to ensure that, once confirmed, Board members would have enough time to complete their work. Companion bipartisan legislation was introduced recently in the Senate by U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).

“While it is too late to bring back the black men and women murdered during the civil rights era in racist acts of terror, it is not too late to bring answers and closure to the families of victims who never saw justice,” Rush said. “It is completely and utterly inexcusable that President Trump failed to fulfill his statutory obligation to nominate members to the Review Board within 60 days of enactment of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act into law. Without nominees in place, the Board has not been able to begin the crucial work intended for it, despite the fact that this bill — which I was proud to introduce in the House — has now been law for more than three years.”

Rush added that he is “pleased that President Biden nominated members to the Review Board and that the Senate has begun the confirmation process, but it is apparent that the Board will need more than one year to carry out the necessary and important work it was intended to have a minimum of four years to complete. I thank my colleague Senator Ossoff for introducing companion legislation in the Senate and I look forward to the Civil Rights Cold Case Investigations Support Act becoming law.”