Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) speaks during a press conference after the weekly Democratic Politics lunch on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Democratic Senators spoke about the COVID-19 hate crime law.
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The Senate passed a bill Thursday aimed at curbing an increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The board approved the measure 94-1, and Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri was the only Senator to oppose it. Legislation will go into the democratically held house. Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Endorsed the bill, and President Joe Biden has signaled that he will legally sign it.
The proposal would direct the Department of Justice to expedite the review of hate crimes related to Covid-19. It would also allocate more resources to state and local law enforcement agencies to follow up the incidents and send guidance on eliminating discriminatory languages describing the pandemic.
“The AAPI community is focused on hate crimes and other incidents, and Congress needs to stand up to condemn these types of actions,” Senator Mazie Hirono, a Hawaiian Democrat and co-author of the law, told CNBC on Wednesday in his passage.
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The law was passed with almost unanimous support in the democratically led Senate after the cross-party changes had been approved.
Legislation is the most tangible measure Congress has taken to respond to the increase in violence and harassment against Asian Americans since the pandemic began last year. This was followed by an increase in racist rhetoric against China about the origins of the virus – including from former President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill.
Anti-Asian hate crimes rose about 150% in 16 of the largest US cities over the past year, according to a study published last month by the California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism in San Bernardino.
Hirono, who wrote the bill with Rep. Grace Meng of New York, spoke about her own fear of violence. Earlier this month, she said she was uncomfortable walking while listening to an audiobook on her headphones.
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