[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        COVID-19 HATE CRIMES ACT

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, I rise today to discuss the COVID-19 
Hate Crimes Act. I was a cosponsor of this bill, which was introduced 
by Senator Hirono and passed the Senate on April 22, 2021, by a vote of 
94 to 1. I was in Minnesota to attend the memorial service for Daunte 
Wright when the bill came up for a vote, but I would have voted in 
favor of the bill had I been present.
  I have been alarmed by the sharp increase in hate crimes against 
members of the Asian-American Pacific Islander, AAPI, community during 
the pandemic. According to Stop AAPI Hate, there have been 
approximately 3,800 incidents of anti-Asian bias across the country in 
the last year, and that number only includes what has been reported. As 
we saw with the recent mass shooting in Georgia, in which six of the 
eight victims were women of Asian descent, these crimes are horrifying 
and heartbreaking.
  I have also talked to constituents in my State who have experienced 
verbal attacks, physical abuse, and threats to their businesses simply 
because they are members of the AAPI community. What they have endured 
is not right. These are hate crimes, and it is time for us to stand 
together, to denounce hate, and take action.
  When I first arrived at the Senate, I worked hard to pass the Matthew 
Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. As a prosecutor, 
I was at the White House when President Bill Clinton introduced the 
bill, and 9 years later, I got to cast one of the deciding votes to 
make the bill a reality. Since then I have worked with Senator 
Murkowski to introduce the bipartisan Justice for Victims of Hate 
Crimes Act, which will help to ensure that Federal prosecutors can 
effectively enforce the Federal hate crimes law. After places of 
worship were targets of violence in my State, I joined my colleagues in 
cosponsoring legislation to strengthen protections for religious 
institutions that was signed into law in September 2018.
  The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will ensure that the Department of 
Justice invests the resources needed to fully investigate pandemic-
related hate crimes against Asian Americans and will support local law 
enforcement to report and respond to hate crimes. While there is more 
we must do to root out hate and bias in our country, this bill is an 
important step forward, and I am grateful to Senator Hirono for her 
work in leading this legislation.

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