EEOC mandate stalled by lack of commissioners

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission continues to file charges and lawsuits but is not pursuing its mandate to combat discrimination as vigorously as it could because it does not have a full complement of commissioners, experts say.

Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, chair of the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights & Human Services Protections, said in an opening statement at a hearing Thursday that the president's fiscal year 2019 budget proposed a nearly $24 million cut to the EEOC's budget, as well as a 13% cut to the budget of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

"These drastic cuts send a clear message about the value, or lack thereof, this Administration places on the protection of civil rights, and that message has been reiterated through its policy decisions," she said.