WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate took the wraps off an extensive police reform bill Monday, aimed at responding to the death of George Floyd.

“Today this moment of national anguish is being transformed into a movement of national action,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at a press conference outlining the legislation.

House Democratic leaders knelt in silence for nearly nine minutes to honor Floyd before introducing the bill.

All three North Carolina Democrats on Capitol Hill - Rep. Alma Adams, Rep. GK Butterfield, and Rep. David Price - co-sponsored the legislation.

“We believe that we must change the culture of law enforcement in this country,” said Butterfield, D-1st District.

Over the weekend, protests continued across the country, including in the nation’s capital, where demonstrators marched up Pennsylvania Avenue calling for police reforms.

“We need to educate them. We need to make sure they are prepared to deal with the citizens of this country. All of them,” said Merari Chollettee, a protestor from northern Virginia.

Among other things, according to a Democratic summary, the bill bans chokeholds at the federal level, while incentivizing local jurisdiction to do the same by conditioning federal funding. It limits the transfer of military gear to local law enforcement and it calls for the creation of a national registry of police misconduct, making it easier to track officers.

Additionally, the bill modifies federal criminal statute to make it easier to hold officers accountable in court and it eliminates qualified immunity for law enforcement.

RELATED: N.C. Congressional Lawmakers Eye Police Reforms After George Floyd Death, Demonstrations 


The legislation's rollout comes as the president is accusing Democrats of wanting to “defund the police” - a phrase borrowed from some protestors.

Butterfield pushed back, arguing that is simply not the case.

“What we all agree to is a radical change in police accountability, that’s what we’re talking about. No civil society can manage without the involvement of responsible police officers,” Butterfield said.

Across the aisle, in a statement, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-8th District, criticized the way the bill was crafted

“We have a historic opportunity to come together and make needed change,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are falling into their usual partisan way of doing business by writing a bill in private with no input from Republicans and other stakeholders.”

House leaders aim to vote on the bill before the end of the month. While it has a good chance of passage in the Democrat-led House, it is unclear what measures the White House or the Republican-controlled Senate will back.