US Congress passes Bill against hate crime in America

The U.S. House passed by a wide bipartisan margin legislation to combat hate crimes across the country, a measure sparked by a sharp rise in attacks against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders since the coronavirus pandemic began. The 364-62 vote comes just weeks after the Senate passed the same legislation and sends it to President Joe Biden, who called for speedy action after March’s shootings by a white gunman at three Atlanta-area spas that left eight people dead. The victims included six women of Asian descent.

While the bill bolsters resources for addressing hate crimes more broadly, supporters said it will send a clear message to the Asian American community that steps are being taken to curb an alarming increase in assaults and threats. “Those of Asian descent have been blamed and scapegoated for the outbreak of Covid-19, and as a result Asian Americans have been beaten, slashed, spat on and even set on fire,” Representative Grace Meng, a New York Democrat and lead sponsor of the bill, said. “The Asian American community is exhausted from being forced to endure this rise in bigotry and racist attacks.”

The legislation requires the Justice Department to conduct a review of hate crimes, and to provide guidance to state and local governments to enable them to establish online reporting of hate crimes and expand public education campaigns to raise awareness of such assaults. It also provides grants for states to establish state-wide hate crimes reporting hotlines and improve their training to better identify and report them. Biden plans to sign the legislation later this week, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter.