Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Passes Democrats' Police Reform Bill, But The Expansive Legislation Is Doomed In Senate
The New York Times: House Passes Sweeping Policing Bill Targeting Racial Bias And Use Of Force
The House on Thursday passed an expansive policing overhaul bill aimed at combating racial discrimination and excessive use of force in law enforcement, as Democrats sought to respond to a nationwide outcry for racial justice and pushed through legislation that is doomed in the Republican-controlled Senate. The bipartisan vote was 236-181 to approve the measure, the most sweeping federal intervention into law enforcement in years. It would eliminate legal protections that shield police officers from lawsuits, make it easier to prosecute them for wrongdoing, impose a new set of restrictions on the use of deadly force, and effectively ban the use of chokeholds. (Edmondson, 6/25)
AP: House Passes Sweeping Police Overhaul After Floyd's Death
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Capitol steps, challenging opponents not to allow the deaths to have been in vain or the outpouring of public support for changes to go unmatched. But the collapse of a Senate Republican bill leaves final legislation in doubt. (Mascaro, 6/26)
Politico: House Passes Sweeping Police Reform Bill
The bill would crack down on excessive police force and ban chokeholds, enforce national transparency standards and push accountability for officer misconduct with a national database to track offenses. “To the protesters: we hear you, we see you, we are you,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in an impassioned speech on the floor just before the vote. Jeffries, one of the most senior Black members in Congress, said he first learned of Floyd’s death from his young son, who told him, “‘Dad, it’s happened again. What are you going to do about it?’” (Ferris, Caygle and Bresnahan, 6/25)
Reuters: House Passes Democratic Police Reform Bill As Impasse Deepens
Democrats and Republicans are deadlocked over how to address racial inequities in policing, despite strong public sentiment for effective reform after Floyd died in Minneapolis as a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. “People say, ‘Well, why can’t you compromise with the other side?’ Well, they don’t ban chokeholds. We ban chokeholds. So are we supposed to come up with a number of chokeholds we are going to agree with? No,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the vote. (Morgan, 6/25)
The Washington Post: House Passes Broad Police Reform Legislation In Wake Of George Floyd’s Killing
With the Trump administration threatening a veto, most House Republicans lined up against the Democratic proposal and instead indicated support for a narrower proposal offered by Senate Republicans. Only three Republicans — Reps. Will Hurd (Tex.), the lone black GOP House member; Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), and Fred Upton (Mich.) — broke ranks and joined Democrats in backing the House bill. (Sonmez, Kane and Colvin, 6/25)
The Wall Street Journal: House Passes Democrats’ Policing Bill, But No Path Seen For Deal
Last week, Republicans, led by Mr. Scott, the only black GOP senator, presented a bill that would, among other things, study the status of black men in America and, separately, the criminal justice system, collect data on the use of no-knock warrants and the use of force by police. Lawmakers hoped the studies would provide data to shape future legislation. The bills had some overlap, which gave some lawmakers hope that a compromise could be reached, but activists largely urged Democrats to block the Senate bill, saying it didn’t go far enough to address the issue. (Andrews, 6/25)
Politico: Amid National Crisis On Police Brutality And Racism, Congress Flails
As the United States faces its biggest crisis over civil rights in decades, Congress is poised to do nothing. Again. What could have been a searing, soul-searching moment where America’s political leaders helped establish a new national accord on race and the role of police in society has instead devolved into a frenzy of political posturing, campaign sloganeering and ugly partisan fights. (Bresnahan, Ferris, Caygle and Levine, 6/25)
The New York Times: Police Groups Wield Strong Influence In Congress, Resisting The Strictest Reforms
As Americans were clamoring in the streets last week to defund the police and as Democrats in Congress were drafting legislation to make it easier to track and prosecute officer misconduct, Larry Cosme, a leader of the police lobby, was at the White House making a direct appeal to some of President Trump’s top advisers against some of the most consequential reforms. At a meeting in the State Dining Room that included Mr. Trump, Attorney General William P. Barr and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Cosme and about two dozen others listened as families of victims of police violence spoke emotionally of the need for a different approach, and pledged that they were ready to make some changes. (Broadwater and Edmondson, 6/25)
In related news —
AP: 'A Problem That We Need To Solve': Harris Takes On Policing
When pressed to take a position on tough issues during the Democratic presidential primary, Kamala Harris often replied with a variation of “we need to have that conversation.” But as the U.S. is roiled by police killings of Black men and women, the California senator is done hedging. As one of two Black Democrats in the Senate, Harris took a lead role this week in blocking Republican-backed legislation to overhaul policing. In an interview with The Associated Press, Harris said she wouldn’t be “played” by GOP leaders seeking to move the bill without input from Democrats and called on Americans to do more to acknowledge racial injustice in policing. (Ronayne, 6/26)
