The US House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (H.R. 7120) by 236 - 181 votes.
Only three Republicans (Will Hurd of Texas, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Fred Upton of Michigan) voted, with Democrats, in favor of passage.
Under this Act, federal law will essentially:
- End racial profiling;
- Eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement;
- Ban chokeholds;
- Establish national standard for operation of police departments;
- Mandate data collection on police encounters;
- Reprogram existing funds to invest in transformative community-based policing programs; and
- Streamline federal law to prosecute excessive force and establish independent prosecutors for police investigations.
The legislation has moved to Senate for consideration but it’s not expected to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate. The White House has also indicated that it will veto the legislation on the basis that it would, among other factors, “...deter good people from pursuing careers in law enforcement, weaken the ability of law enforcement agencies to reduce crime and keep our communities safe, and fail to bring law enforcement and the communities they serve closer together.“
