World News: OnPolitics: The debate over police reform reaches Congress

Friday, June 26

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to members of the media as Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) listens after a weekly Senate Republican Policy Luncheon at Hart Senate Office Building June 23, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

OnPolitics: The debate over police reform reaches Congress

Transparency and accountability, in elections and in policing, were a major theme of the week.

Both the House and Senate this week stepped into the discussion over police reform, proposing dueling legislation in both chambers.

Sen. Tim Scott, who is the lone Black Republican senator, helmed the Republican-led legislation in the Senate that aimed to increase transparency at police agencies while incentivizing departments to use body cameras and ban chokeholds by withholding federal grant money. Democrats, however, blocked the bill Wednesday, arguing it doesn't go far enough.

"I don't know what it's gonna take to wake up," Scott said during an impassioned speech on the Senate floor. "We'll move on. People will forget about it. You know what's gonna happen? Something bad - and we'll be right back here talking about what should have been done, what could have been done, why we must act now."

Then it was the House's turn.

On Thursday, the Democrats debated their version of police reform. USA TODAY Congressional reporter Christal Hayes has been covering both chambers' progress. From her reporting:

The House bill, which was crafted by the Congressional Black Caucus, aims to bolster police accountability and end the practice of aggressive officers moving from one department to another by creating a national registry to track those with checkered records. It also would end certain police practices, such as the use of no-knock warrants and chokeholds, which have been under scrutiny after the recent deaths of Black Americans.

The House passed the legislation Thursday evening.

"George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and that was the beginning of a new chapter in a long history to transform policing in America," Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Thursday morning. "This time hundreds of thousands of people in every state in the Union are marching to make sure that he did not die in vain. His death will not be just another Black man dead at the hands of the police."

People vote in the Kentucky Primary election at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 in Covington, Ky.

Meg Vogel, Cincinnati Enquirer via USA TODAY Network

We're still voting, too.

Yep, there's still elections happening. Kentucky had the most watched race of the night Tuesday, as Democrats Charles Booker and Amy McGrath squared off to represent the party against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

There were some hiccups in the Bluegrass State, which led to a judge extended the time to vote by 30 minutes in one polling location and waits of more than an hour at times in Lexington. New Yorkers also dealt with long lines, in addition to many complaints they hadn't received their ballots.

"Much work remains to be done for states to get this right for the general election, which will be a time when officials will be contending with much higher voter turnout level," Kristin Clarke, president & executive director of the National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told USA TODAY's Joey Garrison . " ... Voters are encountering problems across the board and we have to address those issues in advance of the general election."

Thanks, as always, for reading. Stay safe out there. - Annah Aschbrenner

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