U.S. Democratic Senator Cory Booker said on the 5th that he is promoting a police reform bill. “Tough fight”.
In an interview with NBC’s “Talk to the Press” program that day, Booker said that he would “put all his efforts” into promoting the police reform bill. but the Democratic-controlled Senate would still need the Republican-controlled Senate to pass any bill. The House of Representatives “gives the green light.
The problem of violent law enforcement by American police has become increasingly prominent in recent years. However, because the police enjoy certain immunity, it is extremely difficult to civilly prosecute the police in the United States. According to Reuters, the police reform bill promoted by Booker aims to lower the threshold for the US Department of Justice to prosecute problem police officers, and also includes increasing the police training budget.
According to the legislative procedure, the bill passed by the Senate still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives, and after forming a unified version of the two houses, it will be signed by the President for confirmation. Booker said he has been discussing key differences over the police reform bill with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has sent positive signals.
Booker said his meeting with Graham last week was inspiring. “I have a feeling that there is a possibility that we can do something in the Senate. But remember, a bill passed in the Senate … doesn’t mean it will pass in the House.”
According to Reuters, Republicans are generally not optimistic that Congress can pass the police reform bill.
American society has been calling for reform of the police system, but relevant efforts have been struggling amid partisan struggles. In May 2020, after George Floyd, an African-American man was violently enforced by the police, protests and demonstrations broke out in many places in the United States, and calls for Congress to promote police reform legislation grew louder.
In June 2020, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted to pass the Police Enforcement Fairness Act to strengthen accountability for police misconduct. However, the Republican-controlled Senate did not vote on the bill at the time. In March 2021, the House of Representatives voted again to pass the bill, but bipartisan differences blocked the bill in the Senate and failed to achieve legislation.
In January of this year, Tire Nichols, an African-American man, was beaten to death by several police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, which once again triggered discussions in American society on reforming the police system. Many analysts pointed out that police violence is only the symptom of the problem, and that the root cause of the problem is deep-rooted systemic racial discrimination in American society.