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Washington, D.C. –This week, the House of Representatives will consider H.R.1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This legislation is the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and our communities. As Congress prepares to move forward on policing reform, public support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act continues to grow. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House Office of Management and Budget called for House passage of the legislation. Endorsements for the bill include leading civil rights and social justice groups such as the NAACP, National Action Network, Urban League and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights as well as law enforcement, corporations and business groups, and more.
Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) reintroduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 on February 24, 2021. Last Congress, the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act passed by a bipartisan vote of 236 to 181.
Here is What They are Saying about the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act of 2021:
President Joe Biden: “I am pleased that the House will vote next week on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. I encourage the House to pass it. Following Senate consideration, I hope to be able to sign into law a landmark police reform bill.”
Vice President Kamala Harris: “The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act represents an important step towards ensuring more accountability and transparency in policing. I join @POTUS in encouraging Congress to pass this legislation and get it to the President’s desk.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Last summer, George Floyd spoke his final words – ‘I can’t breathe’ – and changed the course of history in our nation. Today, by re-introducing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the House is again joining the American people to turn this moment of agony into one of action, as we honor George Floyd’s life and the lives of all killed by police brutality. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will address systemic racism, curb police brutality and save lives. This legislation includes bold reforms, which ban chokeholds, stop no-knock warrants, end the court-created qualified immunity doctrine, combat racial profiling, and establish strong new standards and protections to prevent and combat police misconduct. Sadly, despite mass protests across America and a renewed focus on the crisis of racial injustice, the epidemic of police brutality continues – with more police killings occurring last year than in the year before, and with communities of color and vulnerable groups disproportionately bearing the brunt of this cruelty. We must act decisively and urgently to end the injustice. Working with the Biden-Harris Administration and the millions of Americans marching and demanding action, we will not stop working until this legislation becomes law.”
White House: “To make our communities safer, we must begin by rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the people they are entrusted to serve and protect. We cannot rebuild that trust if we do not hold police officers accountable for abuses of power and tackle systemic misconduct – and systemic racism – in police departments. President Biden has a long record of championing meaningful policing reform and previously called for the Congress to enact provisions like those in H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. The Administration encourages the House to pass this legislation, and looks forward to working with the Congress to enact a landmark policing reform law.”
Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty: “We cannot bring back George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Andre Hill, Casey Goodson, Jr. or the countless men and women who have died or been injured senselessly by law enforcement, but we can prevent similar tragedies in the future. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will do precisely that by guaranteeing transparency and accountability from the very people sworn to protect and serve all Americans—and at the same time ensure justice for every one of us. That is why I am proud to cosponsor this much-needed, long overdue bill and have made its passage a top priority for the Congressional Black Caucus.”
New Democrat Coalition: “Black Americans have endured generations of systemic racism and discrimination for too long, and this has been painfully evident in their treatment by law enforcement. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a meaningful first step to increase transparency, deliver accountability, and help end police brutality,” said NDC Chair Suzan DelBene. “The NDC will support our colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to advance this bill to ensure our law enforcement works for all Americans.”
Congressional Hispanic Caucus: “The Congressional Hispanic Caucus proudly endorses the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” said Chairman Raul Ruiz. “The issue of police brutality has impacted Black and Hispanic communities for years. The 2020 killing of George Floyd bore witness to the deadly consequences of the racially targeted violent abuse our nation still faces. The Justice in Policing Act finally moves us closer to equal justice under the law and its passage is a necessary step to empower good policing, advance transparency and accountability, and protect civil rights.”
NAACP: “The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act seeks to hold our system of justice accountable at a time when transparency and liability are lacking. We’ve witnessed far too many deaths at the hands of law enforcement with little to no recourse. It is long overdue that we reimagine public safety in our communities and rethink policing; this piece of legislation aims to do just that.”
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives: “NOBLE remains unwavered in supporting the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Overwhelmingly, the sentiment has been we have to have better and be better as law enforcement officials and the passage of this act is paramount in achieving the fundamental principle of a police force that ‘protects and serves’ every citizen of their community, with fairness, accountability and transparency in their actions.”
NAACP Legal Defense Fund: “The killing of George Floyd held a mirror up to a truth about the American legal system. It showed us in the most stark and irrefutable way, that there are deep, fundamental problems with how this country allows law enforcement to intimidate, abuse, torture, and kill unarmed Black people. Among the powerful reasons Americans were moved to action in the wake of the killing of George Floyd was watching Derek Chauvin’s reaction to being recorded. He stared at us with his hand in his pocket, believing that nothing was going to happen to him, that he would face neither criminal penalty nor civil liability. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is focused, first and foremost, on addressing the regime of impunity that has allowed police officers for decades to kill innocent Black men, women, and children without accountability. If Congress fails to act to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, it will prove Derek Chauvin right. It will reinforce that in encounters with Black people, law enforcement officers are above the law. When Officer Chauvin looks into the camera as he kills George Floyd, he is looking at us. He is daring us to prove him wrong. We’re calling on Congress to prove him wrong and move forward the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.”
National Urban League: “Excessive, deadly force against Black Americans runs deeper than the tragic death of George Floyd. The United States’ use of brutal police force to control Black Americans can be traced back to slave patrols of the 1700s and the Black codes of the 1860s-1870s. Now it’s time for Congress to pass the Justice in Policing Act to ensure that no person under color of law can act unilaterally as cop, judge, jury, and executioner in this country. The previous Congress failed to do its job. This Congress must meet the challenge of today and send this important piece of legislation to the President’s desk.”
National Action Network: “The lynching by knee of a law enforcement officer of George Floyd is to this generation of civil rights what the lynching of Emmitt Till was to the generation of our grandparents. Therefore, the passing of the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act is as important in this time as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was in the era of the civil rights movement of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. The Senate must act now as the Senate acted in that time. A vote against that is a vote against civil rights and the passage of this will send a message that police lynchings will not be tolerated and the accountability on all policing must be the law of the land.”
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: “For many of us, the searing pain on display in Minneapolis and across the country last summer has not gone away – and those who have lost their lives to state violence deserve more. Yet, for too long, our nation has met the cycle of police brutality and racism with tinkering at the edges instead of real change. To be clear, we cannot and will not accept an incremental approach to justice nor go through this cycle over and over again. Now is the time to take this meaningful step to reimagine what kind of America we want to build — an America where all people can live safely and freely. We urge members of the House to support passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and for Senate leadership to take it up in short order and work to strengthen it.”
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation: “Congress must understand the urgency in immediately passing The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Our Black Women’s Roundtable/Essence 2020 Poll and our NCBCP Unity 2020 Election Exit Poll revealed that criminal justice/policing reform was one of the top-three issues that Black voters – especially Black women and young voters – wanted the next President and Congress to address. (The poll also revealed that eradicating systemic racism was the #1 issue, while ending COVID-19 was number #3). The voters have spoken and now is the time for the Congress to deliver what the people voted for and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Further, as our nation deals with multiple crises during a deadly pandemic, it is important to also understand that these issues are a matter of life and death to millions of people of color and impoverished communities that are unfairly treated by too many in law enforcement in our nation.”
National Council of Negro Women: “There is a very long history of systemic racism against Black women, men and children by individual white supremacists and by state-sanctioned acts that began during the years of enslavement and continued during the period of reconstruction and Jim Crowism. Such violence continues to plague our communities. Today there are clear and irrefutable acts of police violence that are exemplified by the killing of George Floyd. The passage of the George Floyd Act is an urgent and necessary action to end unjustified police killings of Black women, men and children.”
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: “In order to make meaningful progress on the urgent need for transparency and accountability for police misconduct, we need the Justice in Policing Act now more than ever. America is still confronted with a national crisis of unchecked police violence. Police are still killing unarmed Black people at alarming rates. Time and time again we see these inexplicable tragedies and atrocities, followed by predictable outrage and condemnation, but little else. Some things seem to have changed in this country in terms of public discourse and consciousness about the problem. Yet, our federal laws have not changed accordingly. Passing this legislation will force our nation to finally acknowledge and begin to address this potent form of systemic discrimination faced by Black communities nationwide.”
Business Roundtable: “We applaud congressional leaders for introducing policing reform legislation. There are a number of thoughtful reforms at the federal level that would make policing more transparent, accountable and equitable toward all Americans, including in communities of color where far too many Black men and women have been tragically killed. We call on lawmakers to respond to the urgent demand for policing reform. To usher in meaningful change, America’s business leaders are committed to working with Congress and the Biden Administration on bipartisan policing reform. Last summer, Congress came close to moving significant reforms forward. We urge policymakers from both parties to commit to getting bipartisan legislation across the finish line this year.”
IBM: “At IBM we have been shocked and angered by the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and too many others. These tragedies have shed light on the racism and inequality Black people have endured for too long and continue to face every day, and remind us that the fight against racism is as urgent as ever…IBM supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act because it would: hold police more accountable for misconduct, change immunity laws so that people can seek damages when police violate their constitutional rights, give authorities broader power to investigate alleged police misconduct, and require states receiving federal law enforcement funding to report more details on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. It is incumbent on us to stand up and speak out, and to fight discrimination in all its forms. Right now we have the opportunity to advance public policy that can make a meaningful change in this critical fight. We urge Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and send it to the president's desk to sign.”
HP: “I am writing to you on behalf of HP to reiterate our support for comprehensive, bipartisan police reform focused on transparency and fairness. It has been eight months since the passage of a reform bill in the House last June, and the passage of time has done nothing but increase the urgency of the task at hand. We are pleased to see the new Congress taking up this issue once again with the reintroduction of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. We sincerely hope this is a moment when politics can be put aside and the two parties can come together behind sensible reforms that protect the rights of our fellow citizens, prevent needless loss of life in our communities, and ultimately yield better policing.”
Ben & Jerry’s: ”It’s time for our country to see real change. Tell Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a small step in the right direction toward improving our broken system of policing.”
Everytown for Gun Safety: “The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a strong and urgently needed step toward creating a system of police accountability, transparency and training, and Everytown will stand behind leaders in the House as they fight to make it the law of the land.”
Moms Demand Action: “This bill is an important step on a long journey toward reforming policing in America, and ending the centuries of police violence against Black people who have suffered disproportionately since our nation’s founding. We applaud our leaders in the House of Representatives for taking action, especially the members of the Congressional Black Caucus who have led the fight for justice for a long time. It’s time to pass this bill into law.”
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: “…The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is the first step in building a new and healthier relationship between law enforcement and the communities that they serve. The bill would implement much-needed reforms to American police forces through numerous policy changes aimed at strengthening accountability and re-building the trust that has deteriorated between communities, particularly communities of color, and law enforcement agencies. The Justice in Policing Act includes meaningful provisions that can enhance police-community relationships and build police legitimacy. Police legitimacy is the way community members trust in, and are willing to work with, the police. It is a vital component in reducing community gun violence. When communities view the police force as legitimate they are more willing to work with law enforcement to identify and detain those responsible for committing acts of gun violence, and to intervene before conflicts develop into shootings. Likewise, when police legitimacy is strong, victims of violence feel safe and can rely on formal channels of justice to bring about closure, instead of resorting to retaliation. The reforms outlined in the Justice in Policing Act will encourage police departments to adopt procedurally just practice to build trust and more effectively work with community members to solve gun crimes, prevent future violence, and co-produce public safety. We enthusiastically endorse the Justice in Policing Act and will work to see it swiftly enacted into law.”
National Education Association: “Educators believe that preparing students for the responsibilities of citizenship means teaching them to appreciate a fundamental principle of our democracy: Under our nation’s system of laws, all of us are equal and deserving of protections. However, the recent police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and Daniel Prude make a mockery of that principle, and have brought to the fore systemic, deeply rooted racism. In many communities of color, residents are not treated or policed according to the principle of equality under the law. They are not first viewed as citizens, but as suspects. Our Black and brown students see this dissonance—in fact, many experience it before they are even old enough to articulate it.... The House of Representatives must lead the effort to end police brutality and promote policies that dismantle institutionalized racism in law enforcement. We recognize that some in law enforcement have taken steps to adjust practices and training programs, but much more is needed. NEA members believe that without federal reform, police brutality will continue with impunity and the spotlight will fade, especially given fast-changing news cycle. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act takes initial steps to end police brutality, protect the civil rights and liberties of all people, and restore the faith that we want—and need—to place in law enforcement agencies.”
American Public Health Association: “On behalf of the American Public Health Association, a diverse community of public health professionals who champion the health of all people and communities, I write in strong support of H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. Police violence is a critical public health issue and this legislation includes a number of important provisions to reduce police violence in the United States. The bill would reform policing and demand a higher level of accountability from officers through provisions that create a national, publicly-accessible registry of police officer misconduct, ban no-knock warrants in drug cases, ban chokeholds and carotid holds, limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to police departments, mandate training on racial profiling and racial bias and create new standards for allowable use of force. The bill would also empower local communities to reimagine public safety with the use of public safety innovation grants to encourage the development of just and equitable approaches and alternatives by community-based organizations…”
Third Way: “Last summer, communities across the country made their voices heard, demanding real solutions to the entrenched systemic racism and outdated laws that have led to the loss of countless African American lives. In November, Americans from all walks of life voted for bold change. It’s clear that the time for concrete reforms is now. The Justice in Policing Act would be a major step forward toward aligning our federal laws with our values, stemming the violence we have seen against people of color from coast to coast, and achieving racial justice. From stronger use of force standards to much-needed accountability measures, it would greatly improve policing in our country and ensure law enforcement protects every American. This moment demands that every level of government, from cities to states to Washington, act to address the crisis of police violence. This comprehensive set of proposals begins the path toward a safer and more just future. Communities of color live with the dire consequences of inaction every day. Congress has an opportunity to make real progress for the American people. The Justice in Policing Act is imperative. For far too long, we have watched sensible and mainstream proposals fall short of the finish line. In this moment, we must do better. It’s time for every member of Congress to step up in the way that so many towns, cities, and states have over the past year and provide strong leadership to make policing in this country more equitable and less deadly.”
American College of Physicians: “On behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP), I am writing to share our support for the intent and many of the provisions of H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, and urge its swift passage in the House. We commend the sponsors of this legislation for drafting a bill that would improve policing in this country through the reduction of discriminatory practices among law enforcement officers and agencies. We believe that Congress should no longer wait to reform law enforcement practices in this country when Black individuals and other people of color continue to be the subject of violence and criminal injustice, often at the hands of law enforcement, and at disproportionately high rates. Institutional racism and discrimination in law enforcement undermine law enforcement officers who are dedicated to equal treatment under the law, ensuring public safety, and saving lives and undermine public confidence in justice and law enforcement…”
National Organization for Women: “Passing a strong Justice in Policing Act is the first step in honoring the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade and so many others who have lost their lives at the hands of white supremacy and police violence. Our activists will not pause, we will not rest, we will not tire—until Congress passes legislation that ensures justice and public safety for Black communities and begins to dismantle the structural racism that exists within our criminal legal system that has led to the loss of countless Black lives.”
Nielsen: “As CEO of Nielsen, I want to lend my and the company’s support for your efforts. The time for rhetoric and talk has passed. What is required now is action. It is my sincere hope that Congress passes the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. Nielsen joins you in affirming the importance of acting now because the status quo needs to change for our employees, our customers, and the communities we serve and in which we live.”
Full text of the legislation is available here.
A fact sheet on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 is available here.
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