An overwhelming bipartisan vote has pushed a new bill combating anti-Asian American hate through the Senate for final approval at the House of Representatives.
The United States Senate on Thursday passed a bill to prohibit anti-Asian American hate crimes, which saw a spike following the COVID-19 pandemic. Titled "The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act," the new measure received overwhelming bipartisan support with a vote of 94-1. Only one senator voted against S. 937: Republican Representative Josh Hawley of Missouri.
"The vote today on the anti-Asian hate crimes bill is proof that when the Senate is given the opportunity to work, the Senate can work to solve important issues," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said, as per NPR.
According to Christian Headlines, S. 937 requires that the Justice Department not only accelerate the review of anti-Asian American hate crimes, but also appoint a department official to oversee it. Also in the works is an online hate crime reporting system with multiple languages for easy accessibility. The new measure against anti-Asian American hate crimes was sponsored by Hawaii's Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono.
"We will send a powerful message of solidarity to the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community that the Senate won't be a bystander as anti-Asian violence surges in our country," Sen. Hirono declared on the Senate floor on Thursday.
Following its smooth passage through the Senate, the bill against anti-Asian American hate crimes is heading to the House of Representatives led by Democratic Rep. Grace Meng of New York, who is most likely to pass it. When it does, S. 937 will then head to President Joe Biden's desk for a swift signature. The president had previously expressed his desire to pass hate crimes legislation following the attack on Asian American citizens in Georgia back in March.
"Crimes motivated by bias against race, national origin, and other characteristics cannot be tolerated," Republican Senator Susan Collins declared. The 68 year-old senator championed to broaden the scope of the original proposal to go beyond hate crimes committed during the pandemic.
She explained, "Our amendment both denounces those acts and marshals additional resources toward addressing and stopping these horrible crimes."
According to Voice Of America, S. 937 was initially introduced as the "Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act'' in honor of Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer, who were victims of racist hate crimes but was changed after discussions between Hirono and Collins concluded that it had to "broaden support" for COVID-19 hate crimes.
The report revealed that there was a 150% spike in anti-Asian hate crimes in major American cities since 2020, as shown in data compiled by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University. S. 937 hopes to remedy the situation and many are hopeful it will see a swift passage through the House and on President Biden's desk.
"The Senate makes it very clear that hate and discrimination against any group has no place in America. Bigotry against one is bigotry against all," Sen. Schumer warned.
