Bill Summary
The proposed resolution supports the "Equity or Else" quality-of-life platform, emphasizing the necessity for the House of Representatives to adopt this framework in order to promote racial and economic equity across various societal issues. It highlights the importance of foundational institutions such as education, healthcare, housing, food systems, and clothing, which have been adversely affected by systemic racism, particularly in marginalized communities.
The resolution calls for policies that prioritize resources for those directly impacted by social injustices and advocates for community involvement in shaping these policies. It outlines specific initiatives aimed at achieving equity, such as addressing food deserts, supporting Black farmers, ensuring equitable healthcare, and creating job opportunities for youth.
The resolution ultimately affirms a commitment to transforming the House's practices to prioritize equity and acknowledges the broader implications of failing to address racial inequities, equating the lack of equity with fascism.
Possible Impacts
Here are three examples of how the "Equity or Else" resolution could affect people:
1. **Improved Access to Healthcare**: The resolution emphasizes the need for equitable healthcare access, particularly in historically marginalized communities. This could lead to policies that increase funding for safety-net hospitals, ensure equitable care for all patients, and potentially lead to initiatives like Medicare for All. As a result, individuals in Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class communities may experience improved health outcomes and reduced disparities in healthcare access and quality.
2. **Enhanced Educational Opportunities**: By prioritizing investments in public schools and addressing the school-to-prison pipeline, the resolution could lead to reforms that provide better educational resources and support for students in underfunded areas. This could include the establishment of community schools that focus on holistic education and wraparound services, ultimately giving students from marginalized backgrounds greater opportunities for success and upward mobility.
3. **Economic Empowerment and Job Creation**: The resolution calls for the creation of job opportunities for youth and the elimination of discriminatory job screenings for formerly incarcerated individuals. This could result in increased access to apprenticeship programs, job training, and employment opportunities, which would empower individuals in affected communities economically, reduce poverty rates, and foster greater economic equity. Additionally, initiatives to control gentrification through rent control and affordable homeownership pathways could help stabilize communities and prevent displacement.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 540 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 540
Supporting the values of the Equity or Else quality-of-life platform
and acknowledging the need for the House of Representatives to use the
platform as a holistic framework for drafting and implementing policy
that promotes racial and economic equity for all across various social
issues.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 24, 2025
Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs.
Ramirez, Ms. Adams, Mr. Carson, Mr. Fields, Mr. Garcia of California,
Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Omar, Ms. Schakowsky,
Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib, and Mrs. McIver) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the values of the Equity or Else quality-of-life platform
and acknowledging the need for the House of Representatives to use the
platform as a holistic framework for drafting and implementing policy
that promotes racial and economic equity for all across various social
issues.
Whereas the foundation of any nation is the institutions that lay the structure
for the people's development;
Whereas, according to the United Nations, the five basic institutions in a
community are education, health care, housing, food production and
delivery systems, and clothing;
Whereas through qualitative and quantitative empirical data we know that in
Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class communities, systemic racism
has sabotaged basic quality-of-life institutions while maintaining
resources for a privileged few;
Whereas equity requires providing resources identified by impacted communities
to alleviate harms caused by various social injustices including but not
limited to racism and other forms of discrimination;
Whereas directly impacted communities must guide and inform processes committed
to equity;
Whereas through hundreds of listening projects, town hall meetings, and
engagement with grassroots organizations across the United States, the
Equity or Else campaign has engaged tens of thousands of people across
the country on the impact racism has had in education, housing, health
care, food production and delivery systems, the environment, youth
investment, immigration, senior rights, and economic development;
Whereas, in May 2022, representatives from organizations across the country
reached consensus on the Equity or Else quality-of-life platform;
Whereas, in September 2022, the Equity or Else quality-of-life national platform
was released as a living, breathing framework that can be used to shape
racial equity policy at the local and Federal level;
Whereas local communities around the United States are using the Equity or Else
framework to develop racial equity policy solutions;
Whereas the Equity or Else campaign is calling on local governments and the
Federal Government to adopt a ``zero tolerance'' approach to racial
inequity, expressed through policy and practice; and
Whereas supporting the Equity or Else framework ought to include investments in
eliminating food deserts and investing in Black farmers, funding safety
net hospitals and ensuring they provide equitable care to all patients,
transformative initiatives like Medicare for All, investing in public
schools and ending the school-to-prison pipeline through evidence-based
models such as community schools, investing in youth centers and free or
low-cost childcare, providing job opportunities for every youth that
wants one, uplifting rent control as a means for controlling
gentrification and affordable homeownership pathways, eliminating lead
pipes and guaranteeing clean water for all, banning discriminatory job
screenings for formerly incarcerated people and providing widely
accessible, low-cost apprenticeship and job training opportunities, and
opening up better pathways for citizenship to all immigrants: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the values of the Equity or Else quality-of-
life platform, including the acknowledgment that racial
inequity can only be undone by changing the belief systems that
currently serve as a foundation for our institutions, policies,
and society at-large;
(2) recognizes the need to change its belief system and
expresses a commitment to evolving the House of
Representatives' practices to prioritize and listen to impacted
communities and to craft and pass transformative legislation
that advances racial and economic equity across various social
issues; and
(3) acknowledges that without equity there is fascism.
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