The Senate voted to advance Asian American hate crime legislation on Wednesday despite criticisms from some Republicans that the measure is a messaging bill that could result in federal overreach.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said the bill was urgently needed to address anti-Asian hate crimes that have surged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in China.
“It is a very straightforward and relatively modest bill to address a pressing and important issue in the country,” Schumer said. “It would designate a point person at the Justice Department to identify hate crimes towards Asian Americans related to COVID-19 — telling federal law enforcement to make these hate crimes a top priority during the pandemic.”
The vote was overwhelmingly bipartisan.
Republicans were under intense pressure to support the measure. Party lawmakers said they hope to hold votes to amend the bill and would therefore not block it from moving to the floor.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said he agrees a bill is needed and is hoping to amend the bill “and move to final passage.”
McConnell is married to Elaine Chao, the former transportation secretary, who is of Taiwanese descent and was born in Taipei, before immigrating to the United States at age 8.
McConnell called discrimination against Asian Americans “a real problem.”
On the Senate floor on Wednesday, Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, said the Biden administration has already taken steps to address the problem, including a move to prioritize hate crimes in the Justice Department.
“Now, it is time for us, it is time for Congress, to act,” Hirono said.
The bill would appoint a federal law enforcement official to expedite reviews of COVID-19-related hate crimes reported at the local or federal levels.
Such a crime is described in the bill as one that is related to race, ethnicity, and other identifying factors or is motivated “by the actual perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19.”
House and Senate Democrats are acting on the measure in response to increased reports of attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A bipartisan pair of senators is working on an amendment to the bill.
Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, has drafted an amendment with Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut that would provide resources to state and local law enforcement agencies “to improve hate crime reporting, increase training, and to establish pathways to rehabilitation,” Schumer said.
