Volume 167, No. 72, covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress (2021 – 2022), was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“COVID-19 HATE CRIMES ACT” mentioning Lisa Murkowski was published in the Senate section on page S2221 on April 27.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators’ salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
COVID-19 HATE CRIMES ACT
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, I rise today to discuss the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. I was a cosponsor of this bill, which was introduced by Senator Hirono and passed the Senate on April 22, 2021, by a vote of 94 to 1. I was in Minnesota to attend the memorial service for Daunte Wright when the bill came up for a vote, but I would have voted in favor of the bill had I been present.
I have been alarmed by the sharp increase in hate crimes against members of the Asian-American Pacific Islander, AAPI, community during the pandemic. According to Stop AAPI Hate, there have been approximately 3,800 incidents of anti-Asian bias across the country in the last year, and that number only includes what has been reported. As we saw with the recent mass shooting in Georgia, in which six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent, these crimes are horrifying and heartbreaking.
I have also talked to constituents in my State who have experienced verbal attacks, physical abuse, and threats to their businesses simply because they are members of the AAPI community. What they have endured is not right. These are hate crimes, and it is time for us to stand together, to denounce hate, and take action.
When I first arrived at the Senate, I worked hard to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. As a prosecutor, I was at the White House when President Bill Clinton introduced the bill, and 9 years later, I got to cast one of the deciding votes to make the bill a reality. Since then I have worked with Senator Murkowski to introduce the bipartisan Justice for Victims of Hate Crimes Act, which will help to ensure that Federal prosecutors can effectively enforce the Federal hate crimes law. After places of worship were targets of violence in my State, I joined my colleagues in cosponsoring legislation to strengthen protections for religious institutions that was signed into law in September 2018.
The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will ensure that the Department of Justice invests the resources needed to fully investigate pandemic-
related hate crimes against Asian Americans and will support local law enforcement to report and respond to hate crimes. While there is more we must do to root out hate and bias in our country, this bill is an important step forward, and I am grateful to Senator Hirono for her work in leading this legislation.
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