Richie believes that the time is always right to confront inequality and injustice everywhere it exists. He is proud to have the endorsement of Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights hero who marched and organized alongside Dr. Martin Luther King for the cause of justice and equality - and he vows to carry the fight forward.
“We are once again fighting forces of discrimination and injustice, and Richie is on the front lines with me, standing up to Donald Trump.”
— Rep. John Lewis
Richie recognizes that insidious racism impacts the lives and livelihoods of people of color in countless ways. He believes that every member of Congress has a responsibility to carry out our nation’s fundamental promise of equal justice for all Americans, and to affirm that Black Lives Matter.
Protests across America have made it clear: now is the time to address police brutality and excessive force, which disproportionately affect people of color.
Richie has met the moment by signing on as an original cosponsor of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020. The bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives, will bring meaningful reform by:
Banning all chokeholds.
Eliminating the qualified immunity doctrine, which makes it nearly impossible to hold police officers accountable for wrongful conduct.
Banning no-knock warrants in drug cases.
Establishing a National Police Misconduct Registry, so that problematic officers who are fired from one department can’t simply be shuffled to another jurisdiction without any accountability.
Ending racial, religious and discriminatory profiling.
But even before this moment, Richie’s record has always been one of working to create meaningful change to the way we police our citizens, handle incarceration, and create a more just society:
He has advocated for barring military force from being used against American civilians.
He cosponsored legislation to make lynching a federal hate crime.
He has consistently condemned police brutality, racial profiling, and the use of excessive force.
He cosponsored a bill calling for a National Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation, and serves as an advisor to a project creating model commissions in communities across America.
He voted no on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime.
He voted to fund alternative sentencing instead of more prisons, and to expand services to help formerly incarcerated people re-enter society.
Lastly, he has fought tirelessly against the death penalty, voting repeatedly to end the practice, and to make it harder to carry out.
Richie has used the power of the Chair’s gavel to shine a light on issues that disproportionately impact people of color - and one issue that often goes unaddressed is differences in health care outcomes.
After assuming the chairmanship, he called a hearing to draw the Ways and Means Committee’s attention to the critical problem of racial and economic disparities in the maternal mortality crisis. Afterward, he took action, cosponsoring a bill aimed at providing solutions.
When COVID-19 hit, Richie called the first virtual hearing in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss racial disparities in the infection and death rate. He has pressed the Trump administration to account for how relief money was allocated to communities of color, and has offered support to bills that provide solutions to these policy issues.
As a lifelong educator, Richie believes high-quality, affordable education is essential to a functioning society. He knows all too well that students of color face countless barriers to entry and challenges within the educational system, and he is determined to find solutions.
“I was afforded the opportunity for education through public school, community college then eventually a four-year degree, and I am committed to ensuring this for all that seek it.”
That’s why he voted for an $85 million dollar grant program for Black and Hispanic colleges; voted to permanently fund HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions with $225 million in federal dollars annually; and voted to lower barriers to education by lowering interest rates on college loans. He also backed legislation to streamline financial aid forms, making it easier for all kids to apply for aid and afford a higher education.
Richie’s commitment to supporting small and minority-owned businesses has been a constant throughout his career. In his second term in Congress, he warned that President Bush’s banking reform plan could harm such businesses - so he wrote an amendment requiring the administration to take steps to ensure that they weren't negatively impacted. Despite his lack of seniority at the time, his skill as a consensus-builder led to the amendment passing, and being incorporated into the final bill.
Today, Richie is once again working to have the backs of minority-owned businesses, as the COVID-19 crisis wreaks havoc on our economy. After Congress passed the CARES Act, Richie quickly saw that despite the bill’s massive investment in America, more help was needed. He ensured that the next bill included $300 billion for small businesses, distributed through community banks, credit unions and micro lenders with the explicit goal of getting to minority-owned and women-owned businesses.