House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has asked the Congressional Black Caucus to lead the process of drafting a legislative response to the protests that
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has asked the Congressional Black Caucus to lead the process of drafting a legislative response to the protests that have swept the country following the death of George Floyd.
House Democrats are sorting through dozens of proposals to address policing issues, including excessive use of force and racial profiling.
“It is time, it is time for us to address the concerns that were being expressed by the protesters,” Pelosi said at a press event at the Capitol Tuesday. “This is not a single incident. We know this is a pattern of behavior. and we also know the history that brings us to this sad place.”
Democrats hope to calm the increasingly incendiary atmosphere in the country over Floyd’s death by finding ways to address the underlying systemic problems enraging protesters in the streets. There is some degree of bipartisan support for reviewing the tactics that led to Floyd’s death.
Many Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S. C., have acknowledged what McConnell called “egregious wrongs.” McConnell said Tuesday there could be a role for Congress to play here.
“It’s certainly something that we need to take a look at,” McConnell told reporters. “We’ll be talking to our colleagues about what, if anything, is appropriate for us to do in the wake of what’s going on.
