The Senate passed a bill designed to curb a spike in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans during the current global pandemic.
The chamber approved the measure in a 94-1 vote, with Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri the only senator to oppose it. The legislation will head to the Democratic-held House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has backed the bill, and President Joe Biden has signaled he would sign it into law.
The proposal would instruct the Justice Department to expedite the review of hate crimes related to current global pandemic. It also would give state and local law enforcement more resources to track the incidents and send guidance on how to root out discriminatory language used to describe the pandemic.
The bill passed with nearly unanimous support in the Democratic-held Senate after approval of bipartisan amendments.
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