Last week, ninety-two senators voted to advance a bill on Asian American hate crimes. But its passage probably depends on Democrats agreeing to soften the language Republicans say ties hate crimes too closely in characterizing COVID-19 as the “China virus.”
Even Republicans who voted to advance senator-sponsored hate crime legislation. Mazie Hirono
Mazie Keiko HironoTrump Addresses Senate Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Battle Hate Against Asian Hate Bills Overcomes First Senate Obstacle, Biden, to Erika Moritsugu as New American and Island Asian Liaison of the Pacific MORE (D-Hawaii) see it as a look at President Trump
Donald Trump Graham: “I could no longer disagree” with Trump’s support for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The Republican Party believes Democrats are giving them the 2022 campaign by winning The Republican Party operative installed while top NSA lawyer resigns MORE. The bill relates its characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus” to racist and hateful acts.
Republicans also see the language of the bill open the door to politically correct thinking police squads. Specifically, they are critical of a provision instructing the attorney general Merrick Garland
Merrick GarlandABC lands the first individual television interview with Garland since Trump is confirmed about the battle against Senate anti-Asian hate crimes. Memory: the tense nation prepares the verdict of Chauvin MORE and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
Xavier BecerraTrump glimpses the battle against the Senate’s anti-Asian hate crimes. NIH reverses Trump administration ban on fetal tissue research Overnight Health Care: Johnson & Johnson delays criticism of CDC group | Pfizer CEO says third dose of COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be needed in a year | The CDC finds that less than 1 percent of fully vaccinated people have COVID-19 MORE issue guidelines on “best practices” for the language describing the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I certainly condemn hate crimes against Asian Americans or any other ethnic group,” the senator said. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsTrump glimpses of battle against hate crimes against Senate Asia: Moderates 0B infrastructure bill is a tough sell-off with Democrats OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senate confirms Mallory to head council White House Environment | US emissions fell 1.7% in 2019 | Interior further delays Trump’s rule that would make drillers pay less to MORE federates (R-Maine), a moderate influencer who voted to advance the bill.
Still, Collins, who has been critical of Trump and voted to convict him in his impeachment trial, said he believes the bill is too focused on linking hate crimes to the form. in which COVID-19 is spoken of.
“The bill has some drafting issues that I hope can be corrected. For example, it seems to say that hate crime must be related to COVID, which is quite rare,” he told reporters.
His. John Cornyn
John Cornyn: Media complicity in the rise of Trump’s “zombie president” conspiracy looms over Senate anti-Asian hate crimes fighting senators in the dark over MP MORE decision (R-Texas), who voted to advance the bill, said he is generally concerned about criminalizing speech.
“Overall, I have concerns for people who are offended by something someone said and are clearly protected by the First Amendment,” he said. “The parameters of inadmissible speech are quite clear from the precedent of the Supreme Court.”
“That’s kind of a problem with where we are now,” he added.
Republicans warn that if Democrats disagree with the changes, there is no guarantee that there will be enough votes to pass legislation to get a final vote yes or no.
However, there are also some risks to Republicans given the real rise in anti-Asian hatred, which captured a new level of national attention after eight people, including six Asian women, were killed in a series. shooting in the Atlanta area.
Republican Party aides acknowledge that there is a risk of blocking hate crime legislation, which is why so many Republicans voted for the motion to proceed.
A Republican Senate aide said that while Republican lawmakers are skeptical about the bill, they did not want to block a debate on the floor and give more demons to Democrats for calling them obstructionists.
“That’s not what we wanted to fight the filibuster,” the source said.
Senate Republicans want to expand the legislation to avoid any appearances they are voting for to reprimand the former president, who continues to criticize his critics.
And now they are vulnerable to attacks if the bill is not amended, given the public comments of the six Republican Party senators who voted against advancing the measure.
One of the six, the senator. Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted) Edward Cruz: Trump rises above Senate anti-Asian hate crimes, fighting Republicans who supported Trump’s ouster; they increase fundraising. The US has seen 45 massive shootings in the last month MORE (Texas) says the measure is a “messaging” bill with a short veil intended to punish criticism in China.
“This legislation … is not designed to do anything to prevent or punish actual crimes,” Cruz said in a statement. “Instead, it is a democratic messaging vehicle designed to drive the demonstrable misconception that it is somehow racist to acknowledge that Covid-19 originated in Wuhan, China and that the Chinese Communist Party actively lied and deleted information about the outbreak, allowing it to become a global pandemic. “
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Who also voted against moving to the bill, said he sees it as a shot at Trump.
“We don’t need to get involved here, to write a big bill that says it’s racism if you say this virus that killed millions of people came from China,” he said. “Sure, it’s anti-Trump and it’s gone. We have to leave it out and do it the right way.”
Democrats are unlikely to want to soften the language, as most, if not all, believe Trump takes responsibility for the rise in Asian-American violence over the past year because of his rhetoric.
Democrats point to a study published last month in the American Journal of Public Health that found anti-Asian sentiment expressed in Trump’s tweets calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” perpetuating racist attitudes.
A Republican Party aide noted that Hirono, Sen. Tammy Duckworth
Ladda (Tammy) Tammy Duckworth: Trump is approaching the battle against Senate anti-Asian hate crimes Lawmakers are calling for justice for Adam Toledo: “He had his hands up. He was disarmed ‘The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Tax March – CDC in limbo over J & J’s vax verdict; Representative Brady retires MORE (D-Ill.) And then-Sen. Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris: Media complicity in the rise of Trump’s “zombie president” conspiracy is approaching the battle of the Senate’s anti-Asian hate crimes for dogs: Major and Champ, ie MORE (D-California) introduced a resolution in May asking Trump and other Republicans to call COVID-19 the virus from China.
“The inflammatory and racist rhetoric of officials at the highest level of our government has contributed to a disturbing increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic,” Hirono said at the time.
Duckworth related the attacks on Asian Americans to Trump’s rhetoric.
“After Donald Trump repeatedly used his platform to try to racialize this disease, we continue to see a rebound in rhetoric and actions against the Asian American community because of misconceptions surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak,” he said. to say.
A Republican Senate aide said the bill would get federal authorities to issue guidelines “on how to talk about the virus in a politically correct way.”
“This part of the bill is designed very explicitly to restrict and control the way people talk about the virus and the fact that it originated in China,” the assistant said.
Republican Senators wary of doing anything to provoke Trump, who attacked Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch), Mitchell McConnell, Trump glimpses of the battle against hate crimes against Asia in the Senate The appointment of a credible, non-partisan commission on January 6 should not be difficult Why the President Biden is integrated into MORE infrastructures (R-Ky.) Last weekend for not supporting his unsubstantiated allegations of widespread electoral fraud in the 2020 election.
Republican senators said it was a sign they wanted to leave behind the Trump disputes and focus on unifying the party before 2022.
His. Jerry Moran
Gerald (Jerry) MoranTrump glimpses on battle against Senate anti-Asian hate crimes Bill against hate crimes against Asia overcomes Senate first hurdle Senate GOP signal they won’t debate on the hate crime bill MORE (R-Kan.) He hopes to expand Hirono’s bill by amending the Hate Law, a bipartisan proposal to improve information on hate crimes, encourage law enforcement training, and education on hate crimes and providing grants to states to establish and manage hatred. -Crime phone lines.
Leader of the Senate majority Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer “Building New Better” Requires New Approach to American Science and Technology Pew Poll: 50 percent Approve Democrats in Congress Former State Representative Vernon Jones launches challenge to Kemp in Georgia MORE (DN.Y.) said it would allow colleagues to consider changes to the bill introduced by Collins and Moran.
“I promised to start the process with the bipartisan amendment of Moran-Blumenthal. I understand that my Republican colleague from Maine has some amendments to the bill, which we appreciate, and these negotiations continue, ”he said Thursday.