Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of S. 937, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act:

"The 'COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act,' is important and timely legislation to address the disturbing rise in violence directed at Asian-Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Among other things, this legislation would help DOJ expedite review of reported cases of hate crimes during the pandemic and provide guidance to state and local law enforcement agencies for collecting better and more accurate data.  It also incorporates the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, which includes measures to encourage the adoption and implementation of the National Incident-Based Reporting System to facilitate the reporting of hate crimes by local police departments to the FBI.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has taken almost 600,000 lives in the U.S. and it has also, unfortunately, deepened existing divisions in our country.  Racist, hateful rhetoric blaming the pandemic on Asian Americans fanned the flames of discord and resulted in a disgraceful, sickening, and ongoing spate of violence and discrimination against Asian people across our country.

"Stop AAPI Hate has collected reports of over 6,000 anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents since the pandemic began in March 2020.  Just this month, there were at least four more heart-breaking attacks on Asian Americans in New York City alone.  And, these cases are, unfortunately, part of a broader and deeply troubling uptick in hate crimes generally since 2015, with a surge in such crimes in 2019.

"This legislation addresses this disturbing trend by helping policymakers determine where critical resources should be focused, identify trends that can be interrupted, and direct public education campaigns.

"I thank my good friends Congresswoman Grace Meng and Senator Mazie Hirono for championing this bill; Congressman Don Beyer and Senator Richard Blumenthal for their leadership on the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act; Chairman Steve Cohen for holding an important hearing in his subcommittee on hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans; and Congresswoman Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, for her tireless advocacy for the AAPI community.

"The Senate passed the bill almost unanimously, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.  I reserve the balance of my time."