George Voinovich: “today, Senator Breaux and I introduced a bill entitled the ``Uniting Neighborhoods and Individuals to Eliminate Racial…”

“today, Senator Breaux and I introduced a bill entitled the ``Uniting Neighborhoods and Individuals to Eliminate Racial Profiling Act of 2004'' (UNITE) that I believe will put us on the road to preventing problems caused by racial profiling and help begin reconciliation in communities torn apart by racial unrest. Rooted in the belief that education and dialogue are the most effective tools for bridging racial divides, our bill bans racial profiling by Federal, State and local law enforcement officers. Our bill also provides important new tools to help law enforcement leaders train their officers in eliminating the practice, including the creation of a National Task Force on Racial Profiling within the U.S. Department of Justice, a Racial Profiling Education and Awareness Program, a nondiscriminatory State-based administrative complaint procedure that allows individuals to file complaints with the State, and a grant program to assist State and local law enforcement agencies in developing programs to eliminate racial profiling. I am personally aware of this issue because of the time I spent as Mayor of Cleveland.”