Washington, DC – Today, as the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee holds a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as U.S. Attorney General, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s President and CEO, John Taylor, made the following statement in opposition to the nomination:
“The key test for any nominee to serve as Attorney General is: does he or she stand for justice for all? Will he or she uphold the law fairly and inclusively? Senator Sessions’ track record speaks for itself. His career has been marked by racial insensitivity and antagonism to measures to expand and enhance civil rights protections.
“NCRC is concerned that he would not protect the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans as Attorney General. His many troubling votes, actions, statements, and positions as a U.S. Senator, as a prosecutor and as Alabama Attorney General, lead to these concerns.
“There are many examples, from his decision to cosponsor legislation to dismantle the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation, which ensures that individuals and families in all communities have fair housing choice, to his past opposition to hate crimes prevention legislation, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. NCRC questions whether the Department of Justice, under his leadership, would be empowered to both protect and uphold the rule of law for all Americans.
“The federal role in protecting our civil rights and civil liberties is a critical one; any Attorney General must believe in these principles and in equal protection of all Americans. We call on the Senate to deny confirmation of this nominee.”
On Monday, NCRC joined other civil rights groups in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the Sessions nomination.
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About NCRC:
NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. We work with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business development.
