Democrats prepare police reform bills after Floyd's deathAP News / June 4, 2020With the urgency of mass protests outside their doors, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working furiously to draft what could become one of the most ambitious efforts in years to oversee the way law enforcement works. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, both former presidential… Read more »
Congress plotting action against police brutality, racial injustices in response to Floyd deathRollCall / Lindsey McPherson and Chris Cioffi / June 2, 2020Members of Congress say they plan to take legislative action to respond to the killing of George Floyd and other instances of police targeting black Americans, but there's not yet consensus on what form that action should take.Lawmakers… Read more »
‘My heart sunk.' How Miami lawmakers are reacting to George Floyd's death and protests Miami Herald / Alex Daugherty / June 2, 2020Two Miami members of Congress had very different reactions to hundreds of peaceful protesters being teargassed at a park adjacent to the White House on Monday so President Donald Trump could take a photograph in front of a damaged church."They knew the… Read more »
Amid protests, Florida leaders' Twitter feeds become virtual battlegrounds NBC 6 / John Haughey / June 2, 2020It's not often an ethics complaint filed by one lawmaker against another is resolved within 24 hours, but that's exactly what Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva did Tuesday in announcing no action would be taken against Rep. Anthony Sabatini.Rep. Cindy Polo, D-Miramar, filed a… Read more »
Poverty's high costsFlorida Politics / June 1, 2020No agreement on a coronavirus aid package seems likely in the next few days. With the $600 unemployment boost above state benefits now expired, both sides are latching on to this to bash the other.Publicly, Democrats are totally ignoring the Heals Act introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that directs $1 trillion toward… Read more »
Congress confronts another crisisPolitico / Melanie Zanona / June 1, 2020JUNE GLOOM -- Lawmakers are grappling with yet another awful crisis: how to end police brutality and heal racial inequalities. But unlike the novel coronavirus, this problem has plagued the country for a long time. Congress, however, is under renewed pressure to act following the civil unrest that escalated over the… Read more »
Lawmakers Push Legislation In Response To George Floyd ProtestsForbes / Sarah Hansen / June 1, 2020As protests over the death of George Floyd continue to escalate across the country, here's how lawmakers are responding. Capitol HillKEY FACTSSenator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told CNN's Jake Tapper that he's drafting legislation to create a national registry of police misconduct.Senator Brian… Read more »
Black Caucus member unveils bill to create commission addressing legacy of slaveryThe Hill / Cristina Marcos / June 1, 2020Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), unveiled a resolution on Monday that calls for establishing a commission to address the legacy of slavery.Lee's resolution is the latest legislative proposal put forth by… Read more »
Pelosi ignores Trump's protest tweets, says she won't ‘take his bait'ABC News / Benjamin Siegel / May 31, 2020House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she is not paying attention to President Donald Trump's inflammatory tweets about protests in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody, suggesting that the president is contributing to the discord and creating a… Read more »
Political Leaders Call for Reforms on Sunday News Shows Amid Protests Against Racial Injustice Variety / Daniel Holloway / May 31, 2020Amid widespread protests against police violence across the United States, political leaders took to TV Sunday morning to call for reforms and grapple with the outbreaks of violence that have dominated news coverage of the demonstrations."We have a lot… Read more »
