Congress stalls on policing overhaul

Washington — Congress is hitting an impasse on policing legislation, as Senate Democrats on Tuesday opposed a Republican proposal as inadequate, leaving the parties to decide whether to take on the hard job of negotiating a compromise or walk away despite public outcry over the killings of Black Americans.

The standoff threatens to turn the nationwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others into another moment that galvanizes the nation but leaves lawmakers unable to act. A new Associated

Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows almost all Americans support some degree of criminal justice changes.

“This is a profound moment, it is a moral moment,” said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a co-author of the Democrats’ proposal. “The call is for us to act.”

Yet Congress, as it has so many times before when confronted with crisis — on gun control or immigration changes supported by broad segments of the population — is expected to stall out, for now. Lawmakers are hesitant to make moves upsetting to voters as they campaign for reelection. And President Donald Trump, facing his own reelection, is an uneven partner with shifting positions on the types of changes he would accept from Capitol Hill.

Ahead of a test vote today, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged it may fall short. If so, he vowed to try again, hoping to pass legislation before a July 4 holiday recess.

“It’s sad that this is falling along party lines,” said Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. “I hope that that changes.”

The GOP’s Justice Act would create a national database of police useof-force incidents, restrict police chokeholds and set up new training procedures. It is not as sweeping as a Democratic proposal, which mandates many of the changes and would hold police liable to damages in lawsuits. The White House says an immunity provision is off the table.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and top Democrats signaled they would oppose the Republican bill as “not salvageable,” as they demand negotiations on a new, bipartisan package with more extensive law enforcement changes and accountability aligned with their own Democratic bill.

The Democratic opposition is being backed by the nation’s leading civil rights organizations and Benjamin Crump, the lawyer representing the families of Floyd and Taylor.