The House passed legislation on Tuesday to eliminate dated references to racial minorities, such as “Negro” and “Oriental,” that remain in parts of federal regulations.

Passed easily by voice vote, the bill authored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou JeffriesPelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief Races heat up for House leadership posts Postmaster general earned millions from company with ties to Postal Service: report MORE (D-N.Y.) targets the use of the terms in two specific regulations regarding Agriculture Department programs for financing loans for properties in rural areas and the 1974 development plan for Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Any reference to the term “Negro” would be replaced with “Black or African American”; “Spanish surname” with “Hispanic”; “Oriental” with “Asian American or Pacific Islander”; and “Eskimo” and “Aleut” with “Alaska Native.”

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Currently, the sections of the regulations that seek to define minority groups — in the context of an affirmative action plan in the development for Pennsylvania Avenue and racial data on beneficiaries of the loan programs — include the terms now considered outdated or offensive.

“Words definitely matter. They can cause great harm and division, particularly when they are embedded in federal statute,” Jeffries said during House floor debate.

Congress previously enacted a law under then-President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaTwitter investigating automated image previews over apparent algorithmic bias Donald Trump delivers promise for less interventions in foreign policy Rush Limbaugh encourages Senate to skip hearings for Trump's SCOTUS nominee MORE last year that eliminated the use of “Oriental,” “Negro” and other racial terms in two other sections of the U.S. code establishing the Department of Energy and the Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act.

“Repealing this term is long overdue. ‘Oriental’ no longer deserves a place in federal law, and very shortly it will finally be a thing of the past,” Rep. Grace Meng Grace MengHouse passes resolution condemning anti-Asian discrimination relating to coronavirus Clark rolls out endorsements in assistant Speaker race This week: House returns for pre-election sprint MORE (D-N.Y.), the author of the 2016 law, said at the time.