#House passes Asian hate crimes bill, awaits Biden’s signature

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill intended to crack down on hate crimes against Asian-Americans.

The bill goes to President Biden for his signature. It previously passed the Senate with a single “no” vote from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who expressed concern about its scope.

It passed with broad bipartisan support, although 62 House Republicans voted against the measure.

Assaulting someone because of their race has been a federal crime since 1968, but the bill seeks to boost prosecutions amid an apparent increase in discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It instructs the Justice Department to “designate an officer or employee” who will “facilitate the expedited review of hate crimes.”

The bill also orders the department to “expand public education campaigns aimed at raising awareness of hate crimes and reaching victims” and mandates a new online reporting system.

Some conservatives opposed the bill because it also would establish grants to state and local governments to finance incident reporting and to “train employees in identifying and classifying hate crimes.”

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said after the vote that he opposed the bill because it “does nothing to protect any individual victim or any individual group” and that “what this is really about” is giving “a bunch of federal money out.”

Some Democrats, including White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, accused former President Donald Trump of inciting anti-Asian discriminating by referring to COVID-19 as the “China virus.” Trump denies it and says he was referring to the virus’ widely acknowledged geographic origin and the failure of China’s government to contain it.

The issue of anti-Asian hate crimes gained widespread public attention in March following a shooting spree at three Atlanta-area massage parlors that left eight dead, including six Asian and Asian-American women.

The accused Atlanta shooter, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, allegedly told police he committed the crimes because he is addicted to sex and wanted to remove a “temptation.” His motive remains a matter of public debate.

The House on Tuesday was debating a separate bill that would link the Atlanta shootings with anti-Asian racism. A vote on that bill is expected Wednesday.

Many Republican leaders, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), embraced the anti-Asians hate crime bill that’s headed to Biden’s desk, saying it sends an appropriate message that discrimination based on race is unacceptable.

But Hawley said in defense of his Senate vote that he was concerned that the new bill would lead to overreach by prosecutors.

“It’s too broad. As a former prosecutor, my view is it’s dangerous to simply give the federal government open-ended authority to define a whole new class of federal hate crime incidents,” Hawley said.