Washington – The House passed HR 1 on Wednesday, a sweeping government and election reform bill and a major legislative priority for the Democratic majority. The House also passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, although the vote was initially scheduled for Thursday. It has been moved because of a threat to security
Two House sources confirmed to CBS News that there were discussions about raising the vote in the House because of the threat. US Capitol Police “received new and worrying information and intelligence indicating increased interest in the Capitol for March 4-6 dates by a militia group,” the House Sergeant at Arms said in a bulletin on Wednesday.
Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told lawmakers in a hearing Wednesday that “we do have some information” and “we have improved our security position.” Concerns about the safety of legislators come next the Capitol was stormed by a crowd trying to reverse the presidential election on January 6, with several rioters seeking to harm or even kill lawmakers.
Steny Hoyer, leader of the house majority, has released an updated schedule showing that the house would vote on the George Floyd measure Wednesday night instead of Thursday, allowing the house to finish its work week a day earlier and not attend Thursday could be.
HR 1 passed with a vote of 220-210. Not a single Republican has voted to pass the bill, which is not surprising given that most Republicans have been vocally against it, saying they believe it amounts to federal overrun and a Democratic seizure of power.
“This is something that is hugely popular among the American people. The American people want to reduce the role of big, dark, special interest money in politics, so that so many good things can’t happen. voters, ”speaker Nancy Pelosi said on HR 1 on Tuesday.
With a vote of 220 to 212, the House also voted to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, named after the Minnesota man who died in police custody last year after an officer knelt on his neck for minutes, at the direction of one wave of protests against racist and police violence during the summer. Democratic representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Ron Kind of Wisconsin voted against the legislation. Republican Representative Lance Gooden from Texas voted in favor of the bill, but later tweeted that he did it accidentally.
The legislation would ban roadblocks and review qualified immunity protections for law enforcement. Last year, Republican Senator Tim Scott proposed a police reform bill in the Senate, though it was blocked by Democrats who claimed it didn’t go far enough. While the two bills share many similarities, they differ in their approach to qualified immunity protections for law enforcement officers.
Following the vote in the House, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump tweeted, “On behalf of George Floyd’s family, we are deeply grateful and grateful for the leadership of the American house. This is an important step forward in reshaping the relationship between police officers and communities of color. “
The House had already passed HR 1 in 2019 after Democrats retracted the majority and passed the Justice in Policing Act last spring, but neither bill went up for consideration in the Republican-controlled Senate. Democrats now have a narrow majority of 50 seats in the Senate, but most legislation requires 60 votes to pass. The bills are unlikely to receive support from ten Republican senators, so their The prospects of succeeding in the Senate are grim
HR 1, known as the “For the People Act,” would review government ethics and campaign finance laws and seek to strengthen voting rights by creating automatic voter registration and expanding access to early and absent voting. The vote on the bill comes as Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country try to limit voting rights, including measures to limit postal voting and impose stricter identification requirements for voters.
“We believe HR 1 should be passed because Republican state legislatures, concerned about their losses, either in their own states or in the country, are re-ramping up their efforts to make voting more difficult for people,” said Steny, leader of the United States. the majority of the house. Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday.
So is the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority of 6 to 3 taking into account two Arizona laws restricting access to votes, which the Democrats say disproportionately affects minority voters. If the court enforces these laws, it could allow the legislature to impose even stricter voting laws, and a higher standard for litigants who wish to challenge them.
Progressives have argued that the Senate should eliminate the filibuster, allowing legislation to continue with a simple majority to meet their top priorities. Some Democrats argue that it is important to delete the filibuster, especially to pass voting laws such as the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which are the provisions of the Supreme Court. Former President Barack Obama called for the elimination of the filibuster so that voting laws could pass the Senate during its eulogy at Lewis’s funeral last summer.
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock suggested there could be a limited exception to the filibuster rules for bills related to voting and civil rights. Warnock was chosen to represent Georgia in a special election in January, and the Republican-controlled state legislature recently introduced bills to make early-stage and postal voting more difficult.
“The right to vote is the preservation of all other rights, and we must do everything we can to preserve the votes of the people in our democracy,” Warnock told reporters on Tuesday. “I think the issues are urgent enough to leave all options on the table.”
However, Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have expressed opposition to the filibuster being eliminated. Manchin said Monday he would “never” change his mind about ending the filibuster.
“Never! Jesus Christ! What don’t you understand about never?” Manchin said.
Nikole Killion and Brian Dakss contributed to this report.