Democrats preparing sweeping police reform bills

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats, powered by the Congressional Black Caucus, are preparing a sweeping package of police reforms as pressure builds on the federal government to respond to the death of George Floyd and others in law enforcement interactions.

With the urgency of mass protests outside their doors, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working furiously to draft what could become one of the most ambitious efforts in years to oversee the way law enforcement works. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, both former presidential candidates, are expected to announce a package in coming days, with a House bill coming soon.

Both the Senate and House efforts are expected to include changes to police accountability laws, such as revising immunity provisions and creating a database of police useofforce incidents. Revamped training requirements are planned, too, among them a ban on the use of choke holds. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has endorsed such a ban.

The political stakes of any police reform effort are high, amplified in an election year by President Trump’s “law and order” stance, including his threats to call in the U.S. military to clamp down on protesters.

The House is expected to vote by month’s end. With Democrats in the majority, the bills will almost certainly pass the House. But the outcome in the Senate is less certain. Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not endorsed any particular legislation.

On Thursday, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pointedly called on McConnell to commit to considering the bills this summer.

“Will our Republican colleagues ever join us in this effort?” Schumer asked from the Senate floor, after Democrats held a 8minute, 46second moment of silence for Floyd and others at the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted earlier that his panel will conduct a hearing

“to shine a bright light on the problems associated with Mr. Floyd’s death, with the goal of finding a better way forward for our nation.”

But much like efforts to stem gun violence after mass shootings, the political momentum for changes to policing procedures could ebb as the protests and images of those who have died fade from public view. For example, a longsought federal antilynching bill has languished in Congress.