Is There A Path Forward For A Police Reform Bill On Capitol Hill?
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the author of a Republican police reform bill that Senate Democrats blocked last week, says he will meet with House Democrats who drafted their own legislation. Meanwhile, Congressional Black Caucus members look to seize the national moment. And Democratic party members call for more progressive changes than those backed by their presumptive presidential nominee.
Reuters:
Republican Senator Sees Effort This Week To Revive Police Reform Debate In U.S. Congress
U.S. lawmakers will try this week to revive efforts to enact police reform legislation in Congress, a Republican senator said on Sunday, after moves to address police misconduct following the death of George Floyd deteriorated into partisan bickering. Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate and author of a Republican reform bill that Democrats blocked last week, said he will meet in coming days with lawmakers who crafted sweeping Democratic legislation that passed the House of Representatives last Thursday. (6/28)
The Washington Post:
Congressional Black Caucus Seizes On Push For Racial Justice To Wield Greater Influence
The Congressional Black Caucus is seizing the national moment of reckoning over systemic inequality and racial injustice to wield its greatest level of influence inside the Capitol and in national politics. The caucus took the lead in crafting policing legislation that the House passed this past week, an expansive measure to stop police brutality after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in police custody. (Bade, Demirjian and Kane, 6/27)
The New York Times:
These Top Democrats Go Further Than Biden On Diverting Police Funds
A month after the killing of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis ignited a wave of nationwide protests, Democratic Party officials are expressing broad support for significantly reallocating funds away from police departments, with positions that go well beyond that of the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr. Interviews with 54 Democratic National Committee members, convention superdelegates and members of a criminal justice task force convened by Mr. Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders found a near-unanimous sentiment that local governments should redirect more money toward social services, education and mental health agencies. (Epstein, 6/26)
