U.S. President Joe Biden’s call on Congress to deliver a major police reform bill to his desk by today, the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, is not going to happen, according to Politico.
Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Dem, told Burgess that he’d be shocked if anything happened as soon as tomorrow. Members of both parties still claim they’re making progress with Tim Scott (R-S.C.) saying there’s an effort to keep both sides at the negotiating table.
Bipartisan negotiators have worked for weeks to get enough Republican support to pass the Justice in Policing Act through the Senate, but the biggest obstacle toward reaching a deal remains the provision to curb qualified immunity, which shields police officers from most civil lawsuits.
Passed by the House, Justice in Policing Act would ban chokeholds, carotid holds and “no-knock” search warrants at the federal level, tying federal funding for state and local law enforcement to officials banning those practices. It envisages, among other things, creating national database of police misconduct and making prosecution of police easer.
Floyd’s family will meet today with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and will later gave a private meeting with President Biden in the White House.
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