The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility for investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues in the United States. Specifically, the CCR investigates allegations of discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, disability. Since 2021, Norma V. Cantu has served as chair of the CCR. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1975d, all statutory authority for the commission terminated on September 30, 1996, and Congress has not passed new legislation, but has continued to pass appropriations. Commissioners The commission is composed of eight commissioners. Four are appointed by the President of the United States, two by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (upon the recommendations of the Senate majority leader and minority leader), and two by the Speaker of the House of Representatives (upon the recommendations of the House majority leader and minority leader). As of December 2022, the members of the commission are: Presidential appointees (2R): Stephen Gilchrist (R) – chairman and CEO, South Carolina African American Chamber of Commerce (appointed by President Donald Trump, May 2020). J. Christian Adams (R) - President and General Counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation (appointed by President Trump, August 2020) Senate appointees (1D, 1I): Gail Heriot (I) – University of San Diego law professor (first appointed by President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd, February 2007; reappointed by President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy, December 2013). House appointees (1D, 1R): Peter N. Kirsanow (R) – Partner at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arnoff in Cleveland, Ohio; former member of the National Labor Relations Board (first appointed by President George W. Bush, December 2001, reappointed December 2006; reappointed by Speaker Dennis Hastert, December 2013; reappointed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, December 2019). Mondaire Jones (D) - Former U.S. Representative for New York's 17th Congressional District (first appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, December 2022) History Creation and early history The commission was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in response to a recommendation by an ad hoc President's Committee on Civil Rights. In calling for a permanent commission, that committee stated: As then-Senator and Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson put it, the commission's task is to "gather facts instead of charges. ... [I]t