basis of race or national origin found in existing Federal civil rights laws, including provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq. ), section 1977 of the Revised Statutes ( 42 U.S.C. 1981 ), and the Fair Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq. ), thereby permitting, for example, employers to discriminate against people of African descent who wear natural or protective hairstyles, even though the employment policies involved are not related to workers’ ability to perform their jobs. (10) Applying these narrow interpretations has resulted in a lack of Federal civil rights protection for individuals who are discriminated against on the basis of characteristics that are commonly associated with race and national origin. (11) Starting in 2019, State legislatures and municipal bodies throughout the United States have introduced and passed legislation that rejects certain Federal courts’ restrictive interpretation of race and national origin, and expressly classifies race and national origin discrimination as inclusive of discrimination on the basis of natural or protective hairstyles commonly associated with race and national origin. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Federal Government should acknowledge that individuals who have hair texture or wear a hairstyle that is historically and contemporarily associated with African Americans or persons of African descent have suffered harmful discrimination in schools, workplaces, and other contexts based upon longstanding race and national origin stereotypes and biases