Washington Bureau
Established June 1, 1941, the NAACP Washington Bureau is the federal legislative liaison and national public policy office of the NAACP. For more than 55 years the NAACP Washington Bureau has been the premier civil rights advocacy entity on Capitol Hill; the Bureau was a leading force behind the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the 1991 Civil Rights Restoration Act and the 2002 Help America Vote Act, the most current reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act among countless others. The Washington Bureau has been lead in the past by such greats as Clarence Mitchell (1950 - 1978), who was known as the "101st Senator"; Althea Simmons (1979 - 1990) and Wade Henderson (1990 - 1996).
The current Director of the Washington Bureau, Mr. Hilary Shelton, has placed a renewed effort on engaging the grassroots NAACP membership in the federal legislative process. Thus the Bureau has heavily recruited NAACP branches, members and friends to join the Action Alert network, through which NAACP Action Alerts and Issue Updates are e-mailed or faxed letting the recipient know about actions on Capitol Hill that affect the NAACP legislative priorities and how people across the nation can have an effect on those actions.
The job of the Washington Bureau is to turn NAACP priorities, as approved by the national Board of Directors, into federal public policy through the legislative process. General topics include the promotion and protection of civil rights, securing a fair and equal criminal justice system, ensuring high quality educational opportunities for all Americans, a fair labor environment, and securing affordable adequate housing and health care for all Americans.
The Bureau has also produced, since 1914, an annual Civil Rights Legislative Report Card. This resource is designed to provide NAACP members with insight into the general voting patterns of their congressional representatives (Senators and members of the House of Representatives) over the course of the year. The NAACP Civil Rights Legislative Report Card demonstrates how every Member of Congress voted on the bread and butter civil rights issues important to the NAACP.
Finally, as part of our mission, the NAACP Washington Bureau takes pride in helping to educate and organize our grassroots membership and engage them in the federal legislative process. As such, we offer a number of legislative advocacy tools for our members and friends to help them become more effective advocates.
Action Alerts
- April 29, 2008 NAACP-Supported Anti Wage Discrimination Legislation Fails to Move Past
Key Senate Hurdle
- April 22, 2008 NAACP-Supported Anti Wage Discrimination Legislation to Come Before the US Senate as Early as Tomorrow, Wed., April 23
- April 4, 2008 NAACP-Supported Jubilee Act,to Help Bring Debt Relief to Impoverished Countries, Moves to Full House for Vote as Early as April 8, 2008
- March 12, 2008 NAACP-Supported Comprehensive Ex-Offender Reentry Legislation, already passed by the U.S. House, passes full U.S. Senate
- March 11, 2008 NAACP Opposes Bush's 2009 Budget Proposal;
- February 28, 2008 NAACP Supports the Literacy, Education and Rehabilitation Act
- February 28, 2008 NAACP Calls for Passage of the Jubilee Act
- January 19, 2008 NAACP Releases Mid-Term Congressional Report Card
- December 19, 2007 NAACP-Supported Sudan Divestment Bill Passes Congress Overwhelmingly
- December 13, 2007 NAACP-Supported Voting Rights Act Reauthorization Legislation is Signed into Law
- November 20, 2007 NAACP-Supported Comprehensive Ex-Offender Reentry Legislation is Passed by the US House of Representatives
- November 16, 2007 U.S. House of Representatives Passes Flawed, Inadequate Bill to Address Predatory Lending Crisis
- November 11, 2007 NAACP Opposes US Attorney General Nominee Michael Mukasey
- October 29, 2007 Extremist Judicial Nominee Leslie Southwick Confirmed by U.S. Senate
- October 24, 2007 NAACP—Supported Employment Non-Discrimination Act Scheduled to be Considered by the
Full U.S. House this Week
- October 4, 2007 President Bush Vetos NAACP—-Supported Children's Health Care Bill
- October 1, 2007 NAACP Calls for Passage of Legislation to End Racial Disparities in Cocaine Sentencing
- October 1, 2007 United States Senate Passes NAACP—Supported Hate Crime Prevention Bill
- September 20,2007 NAACP-Supported D.C. Voting Rights Bill Fails in Senate
- September 11, 2007 NAACP-Supported Legislation to End Intimidating and Deceptive Practices in Federal Elections Passes Senate Committee
- August 24,2007 NAACP Supports Passage of Comprehensive Ex-Offender Reentry Legislation
- August 1, 2007 NAACP Urges U.S. Senate to Pass DC Voting Rights Bill Now
- July 30, 2007 NAACP-Supported Sudan Divestment Bill to Come Before Full House as Early as this Monday, 7/30
- July 20, 2007 NAACP Supports The "Jena 6"
- June 29, 2007 NAACP Supports Divestment from Sudan to Advance an End to Genocide in Darfur
- June 7, 2007 NAACP Opposes Right-Wing Extremist Judicial Nominee Lesley Southwick
- May 15, 2007 NAACP Supports Passage of Comprehensive Ex-Offender Reentry Legislation
- May 9, 2007 House of Representatives Passes NAACP Supported Hate Crime Prevention Bill
- April 27, 2007 NAACP Supported Hate Crime Prevention Bill Passes House Judiciary Committee
- April 20, 2007 NAACP–Supported Head Start Reauthorization Threatened by Provision to Eliminate
Civil Rights Protections
- Mar 23, 2007
District of Columbia Residents Voting Rights Held Hostage to Extremist Gun Lobby
On Thursday, March 22, 2007 the US House of Representatives began consideration of H.R. 1433, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act, which would provide the residents of the District of Columbia with full voting rights in the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, consideration was halted when pro-gun lobby extremists used a parliamentary procedure to try to amend the bill and overturn a 28-year old law enacted by the elected officials of the District of Columbia and affects only D.C. residents that for reasons of public safety outlaws handguns bought after 1976. Registered firearms bought before 1976 must be kept unloaded and disassembled, or with the trigger locked.
- Mar 16, 2007
Voting Rights for the residents of the District of Columbia
- Mar 14, 2007
NAACP OPPOSES BUSH'S PROPOSED 2008 BUDGET
A nation's budget is, in its aggregate, a statement about the values and priorities of its people. On February 5, 2007, President Bush released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2008 and it is most notable in that it features cuts in scores of programs that are essential to millions of middle- and low-income families and calls for additional tax cuts that will primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans. In short, it is a continuation of the disturbing budget choices President Bush has been making for the last 7 years.
- Mar 9, 2007
Expanded Election Reform Legislation introduced
In 2002, following the 2000 Presidential election debacle, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act. The NAACP supported the Help American Vote Act as we saw it as an important step toward ensuring that every eligible American who wants to vote can, and that every vote is counted. While we have seen some real progress since the enactment of the Help America Vote Act, the 2004 Presidential election and the 2006 mid-tern election clearly demonstrated that there is still much more to be done.
- Mar 6, 2007
House Passes NAACP Supported Union Bill
On Thursday, March 1, the House of Representatives passed, by a margin of 241 yeas to 185 nays, H.R. 800, the "Employee Free Choice Act." This legislation will make sure workers have a fair chance to exercise their democratic right to choose a union by making it easier for a union to act as a mediator for workers if the majority of workers have provided authorized signatures indicating that they want the union to act as their representative, and increasing penalties for violations against employees who are trying to organize a union.
- Mar 2, 2007
NAACP Supports Legislation to End Intimidating and Deceptive Practices in Federal Elections
NAACP SUPPORTS LEGISLATION TO END INTIMIDATING AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS -
HOUSE AND SENATE BILLS AIM TO PUBLICLY CORRECT FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION IN TIME FOR FULL VOTER PARTICIPATION
- Feb 28, 2007
NAACP Calls for Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act
For almost a century, unions have helped American workers increase their standards of living for themselves and their families on many fronts. Currently, union workers earn 26% more in median weekly wages than non-union workers; unionized women earn 31% more than their non-union counterparts, and black union workers earn 29% more than non-union African Americans. Furthermore, 75% of union workers have health benefits, compared to 49% of non-union workers. 69% of union workers have short-term disability coverage, compared to 30% of their non-union counterparts. Finally, 82% of union workers get life insurance, compared with 51% of non-union workers.
- Feb 11, 2007
NAACP SUPPORTS FEDERAL PROGRAM TO IMPROVE CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE NATIONWIDE
NAACP SUPPORTS FEDERAL PROGRAM TO IMPROVE CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE NATIONWIDE
- Feb 9, 2007
NAACP SUPPORTS LEGISLATION TO END INTIMIDATING AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS
NAACP SUPPORTS LEGISLATION TO END INTIMIDATING AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS
BILL AIMS TO PUBLICLY CORRECT FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION IN TIME FOR FULL VOTER PARTICIPATION
- Feb 5, 2007
NAACP-SUPPORTED BILL TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE PASSES U.S. SENATE
After nearly two weeks of debate, the United States Senate voted Thursday, 94 yeas to 3 nays, in support of legislation to increase the minimum wage by $2.10 over a two year period.
