NATIONAL NEWS: CELEBRATING LEADER JEFFRIES
In the 116 th Congress, Rep. Jeffries was similarly active in the legislative process, with many of his bills pass- ing the House of Representatives and becoming law. They included bills to create a copyright small claims board allowing the creative middle class to protect their works (H.R. 2426, Public Law No. 116-260), to expand scholar- ship opportunities available to Pakistani women (H.R. 4508, Public Law No. 116-338) and to provide entrepreneur- ship counseling and training services to formerly incarcerated individuals (H.R. 5065). In January 2020, Rep. Jeffries was selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve as one of seven House Impeach- ment Managers in the Senate trial of President Donald Trump, becoming the first African American man to serve in that role. During the nearly three-week trial, Congressman Jeffries argued that President Trump should be removed from office for abusing his power by pressuring a foreign government, Ukraine, to target an American citizen as part of a corrupt scheme to interfere in the 2020 election. The House Im- peachment Managers established with a mountain of evidence that crimes against the Constitution were commit- ted. Nevertheless, the Senate failed to remove the President without hearing from a single witness during the trial. On March 9, 2021, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1280, the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” for the second time through the House. During both pushes, Rep. Jeffries helped lead the charge with respect to passage of this historic police reform bill, which included legislation au- thored by the Congressman to criminal- ize the chokehold and other inherently dangerous tactics such as a knee to the neck. Rep. Jeffries remains dedicated to working with his colleagues to make transformational police reform a reality and breathe life into the principle of lib-
Above: Jeffries being sworn in by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019. Brother Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries. Sons Jeremiah and Joshua (holding the Bible) participate. The family lives in Prospect Heights. Opposite page below: at a Mu Kappa Chapter gathering. Below: Jeffries is elected as the Democratic Leader.
In the 115 th Congress, Rep. Jef- fries worked across the aisle as the lead Democratic sponsor of the FIRST STEP Act (S. 756, Public Law No. 115-391), a strong, bipartisan criminal justice re- form bill that the President signed into law in December 2018. Rep. Jeffries partnered with Congressman Doug Collins, a conservative Republican from rural Georgia, on the legislation, which is widely viewed as the most meaningful criminal justice reform effort in a gen- eration. The FIRST STEP Act provides ret- roactive relief for the shameful crack cocaine sentencing disparity that un- fairly destroyed lives, families and com- munities. The law shortens sentences by ensuring inmates can earn the 54 days of good time credit per year. Con- gress intended to apply the change ret- roactively, to the benefit of thousands of currently incarcerated mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. It provides $375 million over five years to expand re-en- try programming, including education and vocational training, which is proven to dramatically reduce recidivism and help prepare for a successful transition
erty and justice for all.
Rep. Jeffries has played a major role in shaping the Congressional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has fought hard to assist state and local governments whose budgets have been devastated by the virus, pushed for an extension of the emergency unemploy- ment benefit and supported efforts to keep everyday Americans in their homes. Rep. Jeffries also worked across the aisle with Rep. Peter King (R-NY) to secure billions of dollars in funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Au- thority in the CARES Act (H.R. 748, Public Law No. 116-136), which be- came law in March 2020. At home, Rep. Jeffries partnered with the Governor to expand testing in hard-hit communities of color by establishing walk-in sites at houses of worship throughout New York City. He denounced discriminatory social distance policing that targeted communities of color and helped bring about a change in policy. In the commu- nity, Rep. Jeffries continues to person- ally distribute food, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer to residents in need.
116 | WINTER - SPRING 2022 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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