The House gave the green light to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act late Wednesday night in a vote of 220-212.
The vote was initially scheduled for Thursday, but was rescheduled due to a potential threat to the Capitol in connection with the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Rep. Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Omar Omar Omar Introduces Bill to Sanction Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Murder Progressive Parties Incite White House to Null Wage Decision Mehdi Hasan Gets MSNBC Sunday Prime-Time Show MORE (D), representing the Minnesota district where George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police last May, served as a speaker pro tempore during the ground debate over the legislation.
The sweeping police reform bill did not receive Republican votes. Initially Rep. Lance Gooden
Lance GoodenHouse Republicans Asking For Briefing On Threats Keeping The National Guard In DC READ: The Republicans Who Voted To Challenge Election Results Here Are The Republicans Planning To Challenge Electoral College Results MORE (R-Texas) had voted in favor of bill, but he later tweeted that he pressed the wrong button, a message he later deleted and replaced. Two Democrats, Representatives Jared Golden (Maine) and Ron Kind
Ronald (Ron) James Kind Six Ways to Visualize America House Divided Republican Campaign, Rolls Out Target List for By-Elections Five Centrist Democrats Oppose Pelosi for Tight Speak (Delete), voted against the measure.
The bill faces a tough road in the Senate, where GOP lawmakers are already bashing it as overly partisan.
Still, Rep. Joyce Beatty
Joyce Birdson BeattyBlack Caucus Members Lobby Biden to Tap into Shalanda Young for OMB Head Harris Holds First Rally in Ceremonial Office With CBC Members On The Money: Senate Panels Postpone Teeth Meetings With Negative Sign | Biden signs supply chain order after ‘positive’ meeting with lawmakers MORE (D-Ohio), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she and other leaders of the group had “great talks” with Sen. Tim Scott
Timothy (Tim) Eugene Scott Trump Endorses Tim Scott for Re-Election This Week: Senate Takes Up Coronavirus Aid After Minimum Wage Setback Lobby World MORE (RS.C.) on finding a middle ground hoping to pass the bill through the 50-50 Senate and President Biden
Joe Biden Head of Intercept Office: Minimum Wage Was Not ‘High Priority’ for Biden in COVID-19 Relief South Carolina Senate Adds Firing Squad as Alternative Execution Method Obama Alumnus Seth Harris to Serve as Biden’s Labor Counselor: Report MORE‘s desk. Scott, the only black Republican senator, has his own reform proposal for the police force and is open to elements of the Democrats’ version.
[It’s] unlike last time where we are in the country, “Beatty said, referring to the changing cultural attitudes towards law enforcement.” I think it has made people feel more like this could be the right thing to do at the right time. “
Beatty declined to say whether House Democrats are willing to accept a slimmed-down version of the bill, but doesn’t rule out anything either.
‘I’m not about to take yet [anything] “she said.” We like the bill as it is. “
In particular, Senate Republicans had objected to the provision overriding certain legal protections currently afforded to law enforcement officials in many states and districts. This protection is known as qualified immunity and, according to Republicans, is necessary to protect law enforcement officials from rampant lawsuits.
Rep. Karen Bass
Karen Ruth BassSunday Show Preview: 2024 Hopefuls Gather At CPAC; House passes coronavirus relief; vaccination effort continues by Black Caucus members lobbying Biden to tap Shalanda Young for OMB head George Floyd police reform bill reintroduced in House MORE (D-Calif.), The bill’s original sponsor, said she plans to counter that criticism by exploring places where similar reforms have already been implemented.
“The states have implemented all kinds of reforms,” Bass said. “And the sky hasn’t fallen.”
Certainly, the proposal has a better chance of gaining bipartisan support than another big piece of the House’s Democratic agenda, HR 1, a far-reaching package that reshapes the campaign finance system and restores certain voting rights.
As it currently reads, the police reform bill would revise national police standards at various levels.
Variety profiling at any level of law enforcement would be prohibited; chokeholds, carotid arteries, and no-knock orders would be banned at the federal level; the qualified immunity for officers would be reviewed and a national police misconduct register would be created so that officers fired for such discretion could not be hired by another police department.
While the bill would not technically mandate the ban on certain reforms, such as state and local chokeholds, it would be consistent with the new federal standards as thresholds that police forces must meet if they want to continue to receive federal aid.
The legislation was initially introduced into the House last summer after George Floyd, a black man, was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Floyd’s death, as well as police’s murder of Breonna Taylor, sparked a summer dominated by nationwide Black Lives Matter protests demanding sweeping police reform and the eradication of systemic racism.
In addition to Bass’s bill in the House, Scott and Sen. Rand Paul
Randal (Rand) Howard PaulSenate Confirms Rouse as Biden’s Top Economist Overnight Health Care: 50 Million Coronavirus Vaccines Given | Pfizer news | Biden health nominees Rand Paul criticized for questioning the transgender nominee for health MORE (R-Ky.) Introduced their own police reform proposals to the Senate, underscoring the twofold nature of the issue.
Scott’s bill, the JUSTICE Act, addresses many of the same concerns raised in the Democrats bill, such as the ban on chokeholds. Paul’s Justice for Breonna Taylor Act focused on outlawing arrest warrants – the technique that led to Taylor’s death – something the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would ban.
Still, the road to negotiating a bill that would pass the equally divided Senate could be difficult.
Scott said in a statement on Tuesday that he was open to discussing the proposed lowering of qualified officer immunity, a political point of contention, but called the House version of the bill “ biased. ”
“I hope my friends will come to the table across the aisle to find common ground where we can make meaningful changes that will bring us closer to the goal of a fairer country,” said Scott.
Mike Lillis contributed.
Updated 10:55 am