Reparations hardliners press Biden to win votes with slavery payouts

Reparations activists want President Joe Biden to launch a commission on payouts for slavery-era abuses, saying it would drive the turnout of black voters in the swing states he needs to secure reelection in November. Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a reparations stalwart, and others say Biden should bypass Congress and use his executive powers to create a slavery payouts panel to put him over the line against rival Donald Trump. They point to polling, which shows that in toss-up Michigan, nearly 60 percent of black voters who don’t regularly vote would be more likely to show up for Biden if he created a reparations commission. Lee and others did not address whether reparations would also lose the Democrat votes in November. Reparations, and their $14 trillion price tag, are unpopular among whites and other voters who would face an extra tax burden. ‘Simply put, reparations can drive black voter turnout to transformative levels,’ Lee said in a statement. The White House did not answer DailyMail.com’s request for comment. Lee has for years pushed House lawmakers to support her resolution for a federal reparations commission, but failed to win enough votes, even amid the public outcry over the police killing...