Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 7-3-20

Politics
House Passes George Floyd Justice In Policing Act Of 2020
GEORGE FLOYD
"When we pass this bill, the Senate will have a choice, to honor George Floyd's life or to do nothing," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the vote.
The U. S. House of Repre- sentatives passed the police reform bill named in honor of George Floyd that seeks to end qualified immunity and would require precincts to surrender data on use of force.
Despite Republican push- back, the bill passed with a final vote of 236-181, with three Republicans — Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylva- nia, Will Hurd of Texas and Fred Upton of Michigan — voting in favor, reports CNN.
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, where Floyd was killed in May, stepped in as speaker pro tempore for the debate, reports NBC News.
“The Senate Republicans want very much to pass a bill on police reform. ... We have total cooperation with many different communities, in- cluding the police commu- nity. They want it very much to happen,” Trump at a news conference, per The Wash- ington Post. “The Democrats don’t want to do it because they want to weaken our po- lice, they want to take away immunity, they want to do
other things.”
“My community has been
crying out for justice and real reform for decades,” she said. “This legislation is an impor- tant step in the right direc- tion, but we can’t stop here. We must heed the calls of the people who are impacted by police brutality daily and re- structure broken police de- partments across our country."
Although the bill passed in the House, many fear that it will not be taken up in the Senate, as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the House’s plan is an overreach and will not advance.
“The House will do its duty and pass the Justice in Policing bill today. I hope the Senate will do the same, but I fear it will not," House Ju- diciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said.
President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the bill if it reaches his desk, saying it was “over- broad” and “would deter good people from pursuing careers in law enforcement, weaken the ability of law en- forcement agencies to reduce crime and keep our commu- nities safe, and fail to bring law enforcement and the communities they serve closer together,” according to a statement from his admin- istration.
The passing of the bill in the House comes a day after Democrats in the upper chamber blocked a Republi- can police reform bill, the Justice Act, stating it wasn’t expansive enough in its policies. It needed 60 votes to pass but failed with a 55-45 vote.
The Republican bill would not have ended qualified im- munity and did not include a federal ban on chokeholds, according to The Post.
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