releases: https://walker.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/walker-moves-eugenics-legislation-through-committee
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://walker.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/walker-moves-eugenics-legislation-through-committee | Walker Moves Eugenics Legislation Through Committee | 2015-12-09 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Republican | House | NC | Mark Walker | W000819 | walker.house.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Representative Mark Walker (NC-06) today supported The Treatment of Certain Payments in Eugenics Compensation Act through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, of which he is a member. This bipartisan legislation protects federal benefits for compensated eugenics victims. We will never be able to justify North Carolinas sterilization program, nor will we be able to delete this page of our states history. However, we can acknowledge these injustices and make restitutions, Walker said. I applaud Senator Tillis for leading this effort in North Carolina and in Washington. This bill should serve as a reminder that every life is precious and I look forward to seeing its passage in the House, Walker added. State-run eugenics and compulsory sterilization laws victimized more than 60,000 Americans in 33 states from the 1920s to the 1970s. State governments often targeted specific groups for sterilization, including unmarried women, African-Americans, and children from poor families Victims were often sterilized without their consent or knowledge. In 2013, North Carolina became the first state to pass legislation creating a fund to compensate living victims of the states sterilization program. North Carolina victims were awarded their first compensation payment of approximately $20,000 each in 2014. The second eugenics compensation payments of an additional $15,000 were awarded last month. The Treatment of Certain Payments in Eugenics Compensation Act was originally introduced in the Senate by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Tom Carper (D-DE). This legislation will help assist living eugenics victims receiving compensation payments by excluding their payments from being used in determining eligibility for, or the amount of, federal public benefits such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, Supplemental Security Income, and SSI-Disabled. Without this legislation, many eugenics victims who receive compensation payments could see their federal benefits reduced or even have their eligibility eliminated. The bill passed the Senate last week with unanimous support and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. It now heads to the House floor. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |