U.S. Senate opens debate on Hate Crimes Act

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Sen. Mazie Hirono and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

In a rare display of bipartisanship, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted 92-6 on Wednesday to advance a bill addressing the rise in the racist crimes against Asian Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

These are the six Republican senators who voted against the  COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act:

Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Senators added 20 amendments to the bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI. Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY, sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives.

As is the nature of lawmaking, some of the amendments had nothing to do with the coronavirus or hate. Senators regularly attach amendments for their special issues to major bills in order to get them passed by the entire Senate. It's ugly and unwieldy, but, unfortunately, that's the way laws and policies get made in the U.S.

Senate leaders will now have to agree which of the 20 amendments to consider in order to pass the bill through the Senate. 

“We should be able — and should really try in earnest — to reach a final resolution and pass the bill through the Senate very, very soon,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday.

It's passage, however, is not a sure thing. At any point during the debate, any single Senator could call for a filibuster, which would require 60 votes to pass the measure. However, several Republicans have indicated a reluctance to filibuster the bill because it would make it appear they were insensitive to the rash of racist attacks against AAPI.

The Hate Crimes Act, as written, would assign a point person within the Depaartment of Justice to record and review of Covid-19-related hate crimes and provide support for local law enforcement to respond to such incidents.

One amendment with bipartisan support is being offered by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Jerry Moran. R-Kansas. Their bill, called the No Hate Act, would train law enforcement on investigating hate crimes, create a hate crimes hotline, and establish programs to rehabilitate perpetrators.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, wanted expand the bill beyond the focus on COVID-related hate crimes.  

"The whole point is that there is a connection between COVID and the rise of these hate crimes," said Hirono. "We wanted to make sure that everyone understood there's a cause and effect here, but I'm open to eliminating that so that we can get to the real issue, which is the rise in hate crimes against AAPIs and what can we do about it."

“We cannot and must not remain silent,” said Schumer last Tuesday. “There is no reason, no reason, this shouldn’t be a bipartisan bill that passes the Senate.”