WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, calls for action from across America are being met with a potential stalemate in Washington.
The fate of police reform on Capitol Hill is uncertain, as Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over how to approach such changes. The impasse and potential inaction has North Carolina activist Greear Webb frustrated though not fully surprised.
“It’s nothing we haven’t seen before when it comes to Congress not acting,” he said.
Webb, a University of North Carolina student who co-founded the group Young Americans Protest, helped organize recent demonstrations in Raleigh. Webb says people are demanding change, and said that if leaders will not act, they will continue to apply pressure.
“Change equals education, plus protests, plus policy change. We’re really waiting on that final piece and I’m really hopeful that our leaders are willing to make a change about that,” he said.
That pressure on leaders could also come at the polling place. He says it is important that protesters exercise their right to vote in this fall's election.
"This is the time where we must put life over death, love over hate, and we must put leaders into office who are willing to be brave," he said.
Latest on the Legislation on Capitol Hill
On Thursday, the U.S. House passed a sweeping police reform bill with a near party-line vote. The measure was crafted by Democrats.
“This legislation will address police misconduct in a very substantial way,” said Rep. GK Butterfield, D-1st District. “Law enforcement officers must know that there are consequences, serious consequences, when they violate constitutional rights.”
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However, the bill stands little chance of going anywhere in the Republican-led Senate.
Meanwhile, in the upper chamber this week, Democratic Senators blocked a procedural step on a Republican-drafted police reform measure, labeling it watered-down and insufficient.
In an interview on Fox News, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, blasted Democrats as playing politics. Tillis is a co-sponsor of the Republican bill.
“They’re ending the debate on something that’s putting communities at risk, police officers at risk, and future Mr. Floyds at risk,” Tillis said. “I believe that Nancy Pelosi’s doing it and Chuck Schumer’s are doing it because they’d rather let this issue stay alive through November.”
The Democratic and Senate GOP plans overlap in several ways, but have some differences.
The Democratic bill bans chokeholds and no-knock warrants in drug cases at the federal level, while incentivizing local jurisdiction to do the same by conditioning federal funding. The GOP plan calls for collecting data on the use of no-knock warrants while encouraging municipalities to do away with chokeholds.
The Democratic bill modifies federal criminal statute to make it easier to hold officers accountable in court. The GOP plan does not roll back qualified immunity protections for officers.