House advances legislation on awarding reparations to a final chamber vote

The Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee late Wednesday advanced legislation to study the awarding of reparations to the descendants of American slaves.

The committee voted along party lines to send a bill to the House floor for a full and final chamber vote. 

If passed, the measure would create a 13-member commission to study slavery and how slaves and their descendants have been impacted by U.S. laws, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

The bill also instructs the committee to consider a "national apology" and recommend remedies to Congress.

Such legislation was first introduced in 1989 by late-Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat and the longest-serving blaack congressman.

The new version was introduced by Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

Conyers' bill had 24 co-sponsors. Lee's has over 170, and fellow Democrats House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Biden have expressed support for at least studying the issue, the newspaper also reports.

However,  the measure would need 10 Republican votes to pass the evenly divided Senate, and no Republicans are co-sponsoring the House bill.