[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 70 (Thursday, April 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2137-S2138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        COVID-19 HATE CRIMES ACT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, after nearly 2 weeks of Democrats and 
Republicans working together, the Senate is going to take a final vote 
on the anti-Asian hate crimes bill later this morning. The vote today 
on the anti-Asian hate crimes bill is proof that when the Senate is 
given the opportunity to work, the Senate can work to solve important 
issues.
  In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian Americans across the 
country have been victims of the surge of discrimination and racially 
motivated violence and bigotry. In New York, I attended rally after 
rally and heard one story after another about Asian Americans who were 
afraid to ride the subway, afraid to go to work, afraid to walk down 
the streets, and having to adjust their daily lives for fear of being 
spat upon, glared at, or even worse. This was not an occasional 
occurrence. It is occurring every day in just about every corner of 
America.
  Now, racism has always existed in America, unfortunately and sadly, 
and the legacy of anti-Asian sentiment goes back centuries to dark 
chapters in our history like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the 
internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II.
  Now, we have made great strides since those days, but over the past 
several years, the forces of hate and bigotry seemed to have gained 
strength, too often encouraged by our former President. It is time for 
all of us to stand up.
  By passing this bill, the Senate makes it very clear that hate and 
discrimination against any group has no place in America. Bigotry 
against one is bigotry against all, and I believe that passage of this 
bill will send two--two--very important messages.
  One important message is to the Asian-American community. By passing 
this bill, we say to the Asian-American community that their government 
is paying attention to them, has heard their concerns, and will respond 
to protect them; and, second, by passing this bill, we will send a 
message to the country that should be all too obvious by now. Hate 
crimes will not be tolerated, and Federal law enforcement will do 
everything in its power to detect, deter, and, if necessary, prosecute 
crimes to the full extent of the law.
  So this bill has a one-two punch, to assure the Asian-American 
community we are going after the bigotry against them and to tell the 
American people, particularly those bigots, we are going after you in a 
legal way, of course.
  Now, yesterday, we reached an agreement to consider three more 
Republican amendments to the bill before a final vote. The legislation, 
as is, already includes significant bipartisan input, including 
modifications from Senator Collins and bipartisan legislation called 
the No Hate Act developed by Senators Moran and Blumenthal and modified 
by Senator Scott of Florida. Senator Warnock has also made sure the 
bill recognizes the recent tragedy in Atlanta in which six women of 
Asian descent were killed.

  Through it all, Senators Durbin, Duckworth, and especially the bill's 
sponsor, Senator Hirono, have demonstrated exceptional leadership; the 
same for Representative Meng in the House.
  Over the past 6 years, we have had too few opportunities to work 
together on timely, bipartisan legislation. Let this be a reminder that 
when Senators of good will work with each other, at the end of the day, 
we can achieve a good result. We can do it again in the next few weeks 
with a bipartisan water infrastructure bill, which will be on the floor 
next week, and soon thereafter, another bipartisan package of 
legislation concerning American competitiveness.

[[Page S2138]]

  Let's continue the bipartisan momentum as we move into next week, but 
today I want to thank my colleagues who have worked together to bring 
this bill to the finish line. I look forward to seeing the anti-Asian 
hate crimes bill passed by this Chamber today and move one step closer 
to reaching the President's desk.

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