Friday, July 18, 2003, 9:30 a.m.
Commission Headquarters
624 9th Street, N.W.
Room 540
Washington, DC 20425
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will review the findings of two studies at its business meeting Friday, July 18. The third volume of "Ten-Year Check-Up: Have Federal Agencies Responded to Civil Rights Recommendations?" finds that the Environmental Protection Agency has made great strides in its civil rights enforcement since the Commission issued recommendations to it in 1996. The study shows that improvements are still needed at the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior, and at the Small Business Administration.
"A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country" finds that the United States is not meeting its obligation to Native peoples, an obligation rooted in the history of forced removal from lands and confiscation of natural resources that they depended on for their livelihood. The study finds evidence of pervasive unmet needs in health care, housing, law enforcement and education, in Native American communities due to the government failure to honor promised funding.
The Commission will also hold a briefing to examine barriers to credit access and wealth accumulation in low-income and minority communities. A panel of speakers will brief the Commission on the Community Reinvestment Act, the role of the Federal Reserve System in promoting corporate responsibility by lending institutions, and the problems in underserved communities such as predatory lending and insurance redlining.
For more information about the July 18 meeting and subsequent briefing, contact Danielle Lewis at 202/833-9771.
07/14/03