Kamala Harris says reparations are Congress’ job

Claim: Kamala Harris said she would take executive action and Congress on reparations if elected president

September 17 Instagram video (direct link, archived link) features Vice President Kamala Harris speaking about the long-term effects of slavery, housing discrimination, and the Jim Crow era in the U.S.

“We need to tell the truth about this, and we need to tell the truth about this in a way that is about driving solutions,” Harris says in the 90-second clip. “And I think, quite frankly, we, you know, and part of that is exploring this to figure out what exactly we need to do.”

On-screen text in the post reads: “Kamala Harris says she will use executive powers and ask Congress to ‘consider reparations’ if elected president.”

The post was liked more than 2,000 times in five days.

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Our Rating: Partially False

The post incorrectly describes Harris’ comments from a September interview with the National Association of Black Journalists. The full video and transcript of the event show she did not say she would use executive action to explore reparations proposals for black Americans. She suggested the issue was best handled by Congress.

Journalist raises question about Harris’ previous support for reparations bill

The clip in the Instagram post shows Harris responding to a question from Gerren Keith Gaynor, White House correspondent and managing editor of politics at TheGrio, during an interview conducted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia on September 17.

Gaynor noted that Harris, as a senator, supported legislation to establish a commission to study the lasting effects of slavery in the U.S. and develop proposals for reparations for African Americans. He asked Harris whether she, if elected president, “would take executive action to create that commission, or does she think it should happen in Congress?”

Harris first praised the late Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee — who became a leading supporter of the House Reparations Committee’s H.R. 40 bill — and then expressed a general openness to examining what she described as the “generational impact of our history,” according to a video posted by NABJ. But the vice president sidestepped a direct response to a question about executive actions.

The video shows Gaynor pressing Harris, asking in a follow-up question: “Do you have a position on whether this should happen — whether this commission should be established by executive order or by Congress?”

Harris’ response to that follow-up question, which was not shown in the Instagram post, did not rule out the potential use of an executive order in the matter, but it also did not include a promise of executive action to study reparations, according to the White House recording and transcript of her remarks. Instead, she suggested that Congress would be the appropriate place to establish such a commission.

Here’s what Harris said in part:

Fact Check:Harris’ comment about destroying lives was about using power responsibly

Reports of the incident from NBC News and the San Francisco Chronicle also show that Harris has not committed to executive action in the form of establishing a commission to study reparations proposals.

James Singer, a spokesman for Harris’ presidential campaign, referred USA TODAY in an email to Harris’ statements in the NABJ interview and declined further comment.

A majority of Americans oppose the idea of ​​reparations for slavery, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center poll. The poll found that 30% of all U.S. adults believe descendants of slaves should receive some form of compensation. The poll found that 77% of black Americans support reparations, while 18% of white Americans say they do.

During her first presidential campaign in 2019, Harris expressed support for reparations and explored the issue.

In a February 2019 interview with The Root, Harris said, “I think there needs to be some form of reparations, and we can discuss what that is. But look, we’re looking at over 200 years of slavery. We’re looking at almost 100 years of Jim Crow. We’re looking at legalized segregation, and actually segregation on so many levels that exist today based on race.”

In a March 2019 interview with NPR, Harris addressed the issue of reparations in the context of health inequities. She specifically noted the elevated rates of heart disease and high blood pressure among African Americans, linking those inequities to the legacy of slavery.

“I think the word, the term reparations, means different things to different people,” Harris told public radio at the time. “But what I mean is we need to examine the effects of generations of discrimination and institutional racism and determine what can be done in terms of intervention to correct course.”

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-checking sources:

• James Singer, September 19, email exchange with USA TODAY

• Congress.gov, 2019, S.1083 – HR 40 Commission on Studying and Developing Proposals for African American Reparations Act

• The Root, February 26, 2019, Exclusive: Kamala Harris Calls for Decriminalization of Sex Work, Explicitly Calls Trump a Racist, and Demands Reparations (Sort of)

• NPR, March 14, 2019, Senator Kamala Harris on Reparations

• NABJ Headquarters (YouTube), September 17, #NABJ Conversation with VP Kamala Harris in Philadelphia on WHYY

• The White House, September 17, Vice President Harris’ Remarks to the National Association of Black Journalists | Philadelphia, PA

• NBC News, September 17, NABJ reporters press Harris for details on Gaza policy, reparations

• San Francisco Chronicle, September 17, Kamala Harris refuses to accept reparations in rare interview focused on race

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harris hasn’t said she’ll issue an order on reparations | Fact check