President Joe Biden Signs Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Bill Into Law; Denounces Racial Discrimination

(Photo : Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
President Biden Signs COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act Into Law
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden smiles after signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law, as (L-R) Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) look on in the East Room of the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. The legislation, drafted in response to the increased violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community during the Coronavirus pandemic, will create a new position in the Department of Justice to focus on the rise in hate crimes and provide resources to federal, state, and local jurisdictions to better report cases.

President Joe Biden became enraged while discussing racial discrimination before signing a proposed federal anti-Asian hate crimes bill to launch a federal crackdown. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act received overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress. It was prompted by an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, which began in China.

Biden, majority of both chambers support anti-Asian hate crimes bill

Per NY Post, Biden said in the White House East Room, "We are unique among all nations in that we are distinctly a creation of a document, not a race, not a religion, not a geography - a document."

As COVID-19 vaccines rise, the White House returns to more routine activities, with 68 primarily unmasked members of Congress attending the event. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell praised the bill signing on social media (R-Ky.).

McConnell wrote, "I congratulate @POTUS on enacting the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. Anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise recently, which is concerning. I'm grateful that the Senate acted bipartisanly - and, as the proud husband of a remarkable Asian-American woman, I'm particularly glad that this effort has now become law."

I applaud @POTUS for signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. Recent increases in anti-Asian hate crimes are alarming. I’m proud the Senate took bipartisan action — and, as the proud husband of a remarkable Asian-American woman, I am especially glad this effort is now law.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) May 20, 2021

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) voted no in the Senate, claiming that it would "give the federal government open-ended authority to define a whole new type of federal hate crime incidents." 62 Republicans voted no in the House.

Since 1968, assaulting someone because of their race has become a federal offense, so the bill aims to increase incident reports and convictions. It covers all federal hate crimes, not just those directed at Asians.

Biden emphasizes the anti-Asian hate crimes bill's bipartisan cooperation

It directs the Department of Justice to designate an officer or employee to facilitate the expedited investigation of hate crimes. The bill requires a new online monitoring structure and directs the department to expand public outreach efforts to increase awareness of hate crimes and reach victims.

The bill passed with overwhelming margins in both houses, a rarity in recent years, and was the product of bipartisan compromise that has eluded critical issues. In his remarks at the White House, Biden emphasized the bill's bipartisan presence as an accomplishment in a Congress divided to the point of paralysis.

Biden also praised Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell - who he referred to obliquely as "the leader from Kentucky" - and Republicans for not filibustering the bill, as some Democrats had predicted. Negotiators reached an agreement to include voting on a few amendments to the bill and to make a few changes to the legal language, allowing the bill to pass through Congress, POLITICO reported.

Republicans had raised concerns earlier in the session that the bill would be redundant with other hate crime laws and instead be used as partisan weapons against the GOP. According to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans more than doubled in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., who introduced the bill, welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and person of Asian descent to hold the office. Biden also praised Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine for attending the ceremony, which Democrats dominated. It was the largest-scale gathering at the White House since the Biden administration started without masks or social distancing.

"Thank you to members of our United States Congress from both parties who helped pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act," Harris said first, to applause. "History will remember this day and this time when our country takes steps to fight hatred because of you," ABC News reported.

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