Senate Unanimously Passes Sens. Cruz, Ossoff Bill to Extend Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board Term

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Judiciary Committee, and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) released the following statement after their Civil Rights Cold Cases Records Collection Reauthorization Act passed the Senate.

Sen. Cruz said, "Civil rights cold case victims and their families deserve justice. Giving the review board more time to investigate these unsolved cases is essential to delivering long-overdue accountability. I am thankful to my colleagues in the Senate for passing this important bipartisan measure, and I call on my colleagues in the House to move quickly to pass this bill so the review board can continue its work."

Sen. Ossoff said, "We must continue working for justice for these victims, for these survivors, for these families, especially the families of those who were killed, and continue our work to safeguard civil and human rights in the United States."

Read the full text of the bill here.

BACKGROUND

This bill would extend the term of the Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board by four years. The board is tasked with investigating criminal investigations from the Civil Rights Era, led by a panel of private citizens appointed by the President.

In 2022, Sens. Cruz and Ossoff wrote and passed into law the Civil Rights Cold Case Investigations Support Act of 2022, which extended the board.

In 2019, Sen. Cruz and former Democrat Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama wrote and passed into law a bill requiring federal agencies to turn over any remaining cold case records to the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board, established by the National Archives and Records Administration, to help shed light on these unsolved cases.