Washington – The House on Wednesday passed HR 1, a government and election reform bill and a key legislative priority for the Democratic majority. The House also passed George Floyd’s Police Justice Act, although the vote was initially scheduled for Thursday. Moved up due to a security threat.
Two House sources confirmed to CBS News that there were discussions about the increase in votes in the House due to the threat. U.S. Capitol police “received new and relevant information about intelligence and intelligence that indicated additional interest in the Capitol for March 4-6 from a militia group,” he said. say the House Sergeant-at-Arms on Wednesday.
Capitol Police Chief of Staff Yogananda Pittman told lawmakers during a hearing Wednesday that “we have some intelligence-related issues” and “we have improved our security stance.” Concerns for the safety of lawmakers come later the Capitol was stormed by a crowd seeking to annul the January 6 presidential election, with several riot police who want to hurt or even kill lawmakers.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer posted an updated calendar showing that the House would vote on George Floyd’s measure Wednesday night instead of Thursday, allowing the House to end its working week a day before and not being in session on Thursday.
HR 1 went through a 220-210 vote. No Republican voted to pass the bill, which is not surprising, as most Republicans have spoken out against it, saying they believe it is a federal scope and a seizure of democratic power.
“This is very popular among the American people. The American people want to reduce the role of big, dark money and special interest in politics, which prevents so many good things from happening. People want to see the end of suppression. of voters, “President Nancy Pelosi said on HR on Tuesday.
By a vote of 220 to 212, the House also voted to pass George Floyd’s Police Justice Act, named after the Minnesota man died in police custody last year after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, instigating a wave of protests against racial violence and police brutality during the summer. Democratic Representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Ron Kind of Wisconsin voted against the legislation. Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden voted in favor of the bill, but later he tweeted who did it by mistake.
The legislation would prohibit contractions and review qualified immunity protections to enforce the law. Republican Sen. Tim Scott proposed a police reform bill to the Senate last year, though it was blocked by Democrats who argued it didn’t go far enough. While the two bills have many similarities, they differ in addressing qualified immunity protections for police officers.
Following the House vote, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump tweeted, “On behalf of George Floyd’s family, we are deeply pleased and grateful for the leadership of the U.S. House. This represents a big step forward. to reform the relationship between police officers and communities of color. “
The House had already passed HR 1 in 2019 after Democrats regained a majority and passed the Police Justice Act last spring, but neither bill was considered in the Republican-controlled Senate. Democrats now have a narrow majority of 50 seats in the Senate, but most legislation requires 60 votes to advance. Bills are unlikely to get the support of ten Republican senators, therefore the prospects for approval in the Senate are sad.
HR 1, known as the “For the People Act,” would review government ethics and campaign funding laws and seek to strengthen voting rights by creating automatic voter registration and expanding access to early and absent voting. . Voting on the bill comes as state legislatures controlled by Republicans across the country try to restrict voting rights, including measures to limit postal voting and impose stricter voter identification requirements.
“We believe HR 1 needs to happen because Republican state lawmakers, concerned about their losses, whether in their own states or in the country, are stepping up their efforts to make it harder for people to vote,” he said. House majority leader Steny Hoyer told reporters Tuesday.
The Supreme Court, which has a Conservative majority of 6 to 3, is too considering two Arizona laws which restrict access to voting, which Democrats argue disproportionately affect minority voters. If the court upholds these laws, it could allow legislatures to impose even more restrictive voting laws and a higher standard for litigants who want to challenge them.
Progressives have argued that the Senate should eliminate the filibuster, which would allow legislation to be advanced with a simple majority to pass its key priorities. Some Democrats argue that it is important to eliminate filibuster in particular so that voting rights legislation, such as the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, can be passed, which would reinstate the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. it was rejected by the Supreme Court. Former President Barack Obama requested the removal of the filibuster so voting rights laws could pass the Senate during his praise of Lewis’s funeral last summer.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock suggested there could be a limited exception to filibuster rules for voting and civil rights laws. Warnock was elected to represent Georgia in a January special election and the Republican-controlled state legislature has recently advanced bills to make early voting and e-mail difficult.
“Voting rights are preservatives of the rest of the rights and we must do everything we can to preserve the voice of the people in our democracy,” Warnock told reporters on Tuesday. “I think the problems are urgent enough to leave all options on the table.”
However, Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have expressed opposition to removing the filibuster. Manchin said Monday he would “never” change his mind to end the filibuster.
“Never! Jesus Christ! What do you never understand?” Said Manchin.
Nikole Killion and Brian Dakss contributed to this report.