# 119-hr-3974: Protect Black Women and Girls Act

119-hr-3974, Protect Black Women and Girls Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2] (D-IL); status introduced (as of 2026-07-02).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3974
- As of: 2026-07-02
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-3974
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protect Black Women and Girls Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-06-12
- Sponsor: Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 17
- Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-02

## Summary

**This bill would create an Interagency Task Force on Black women and girls** to collect data, coordinate federal agencies, and recommend policies to address disparities in education, health, housing, labor, and justice across the life course. - Families and students: The Task Force would examine school discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline, promote restorative justice and after-school or community empowerment programs, and recommend scholarships and supports for children with incarcerated parents and for Black girls with disabilities or religious accommodations. - Workers and entrepreneurs: The Task Force would study and recommend career and training programs such as pre-apprenticeships, vocational and trades pathways, efforts to reduce occupational licensing barriers, priority contracting for Black women-owned businesses, and re-entry supports for workers who left the workforce for caregiving. - Justice-involved women and housing: The Task Force would address reentry, parole and diversion expansion, legal help for custody and eviction issues, eligibility for some formerly incarcerated women to serve as foster parents, and increased access to transitional and permanent housing. It notes Black women are admitted to prison at about 3.9 times the rate of White women.

## Cosponsors (17)

- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4] (D-VA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11] (D-OH), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Strickland, Marilyn [D-WA-10] (D-WA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5] (D-MN), 2025-06-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2025-06-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-07-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2] (D-NC), 2026-06-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Annual civil rights study on Black women and girls: benefit, medium. If enacted, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights would study issues affecting Black women and girls within 1 year and every year after. The study would cover contract opportunities, the wage gap, maternal and infant deaths, early cancer screening impacts, school-to-prison pipeline, housing access, v…
- New task force on Black women and girls: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Attorney General would set up an Interagency Task Force within 180 days. HHS, Education, Labor, NIH, DOJ, and HUD would each name at least one member, but no more than two. The Attorney General would also appoint one defender organization member and two community group members. Memb…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025
- 119-hr-17: Paycheck Fairness Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-3974 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3974)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [119-hr-17: Paycheck Fairness Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-17)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3974 (as of 2026-07-02).