On the recordApril 22, 2021
today, I express my support for S. 937, as amended by Senators Hirono and Collins. Every single one of us is horrified to see our fellow Americans attacked because of their race or ethnicity. We are united in our opposition to this despicable violence and to seeing it investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I have introduced a resolution to this effect and asked for a hearing to learn more about Attorney General Garland's review of hate crimes committed against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It is good to see my Democratic friends acknowledge that bipartisanship is still the way to solve problems in the Senate. We have come together and, with a bipartisan amendment, improved this bill and made it more useful. We have gone beyond merely looking at COVID- related hate crimes to all hate crimes, and we have increased funding for reporting hate crimes. I would be remiss if I did not say that more bipartisanship could have made the bill even better. I think a committee markup would have been useful. I think if Democrats had allowed us to bring a Republican amendment extending the Violence Against Women Act for a vote, that would have been useful. Women are suffering from terrible violence during this pandemic, and this was a missed opportunity.…
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