[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 937 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 13
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 937
To facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 23, 2021
Ms. Hirono (for herself, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms.
Cantwell, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Warner, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr.
Leahy, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden,
Mr. Sanders, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Peters) introduced the
following bill; which was read the first time
March 24, 2021
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act''.
SEC. 2. REVIEW OF COVID-19 HATE CRIMES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 day after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall designate an officer or
employee of the Department of Justice whose sole responsibility during
the applicable period shall be to facilitate the expedited review of
COVID-19 hate crimes and reports of any such crime to Federal, State,
or local law enforcement agencies.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Applicable period.--The term ``applicable period''
means the period beginning on the date on which the officer or
employee is designated under subsection (a), and ending on the
date that is 1 year after the date on which the emergency
period described in subparagraph (B) of section 1135(g)(1) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)) ends, except
that the Attorney General may extend such period as
appropriate.
(2) COVID-19 hate crime.--The term ``COVID-19 hate crime''
means a crime of violence (as such term is defined in section
16 of 18, United States Code) that is motivated by--
(A) the actual or perceived race, ethnicity, age,
color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation,
gender, gender identity, or disability of any person;
and
(B) the actual or perceived relationship to the
spread of COVID-19 of any person because of the
characteristic described in subparagraph (A).
SEC. 3. GUIDANCE.
(a) Guidance for Law Enforcement Agencies.--The Attorney General
shall issue guidance for State and local law enforcement agencies on
how to--
(1) establish online reporting of hate crimes or incidents,
and to have online reporting available in multiple languages as
determined by the Attorney General; and
(2) expand culturally competent and linguistically
appropriate public education campaigns, and collection of data
and public reporting of hate crimes.
(b) Guidance Relating to COVID-19 Pandemic.--The Attorney General
and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination with
the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and community-based
organizations, shall issue guidance describing best practices to
mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the COVID-19
pandemic.
Calendar No. 13
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 937
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
March 24, 2021
Read the second time and placed on the calendar