WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEXSTAR) – On Wednesday, Republicans in the US Senate tried to bring up their police reform bill but Democrats blocked it calling their reforms a political stunt rather than a good faith effort to improve policing.
Senate Democrats voted to block Republicans’ police reform bill.
“There are a lot of political games being played here. They put this bill, they’re saying you vote on it, we’re not going to discuss it, up for a vote. It is empty. And they expect us to yield? I’m not going to get played,” Senator Kamala Harris, D-California, said.
Democrat Kamala Harris argues Senate Republicans introduced their bill because they had to address public demand for change.
But she says their bill doesn’t create a use-of-force standard, ban chokeholds, or require independent police investigations.
“And it gives lip service to an issue that requires teeth, that requires real substance,” Harris said.
Senator Harris says instead she’ll wait for the House to pass its Democratic-led police reform bill, and hope public pressure forces Senate Republicans to take it up.
“Now they’re going to filibuster their own bill, I don’t get it,” Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.
Republican Senators like John Cornyn from Texas say Democrats are stifling the possibility of police reform.
Cornyn says some of Democrats’ own measures are in the Republican bill.
“The only reason you’d want it to die, as best I can tell, is you don’t want anything to pass,” Senator Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, said.
Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy says the Republican bill does make substantive changes to policing.
He says if Democrats want more substance.
“You can offer an amendment that completely replaces the underlying legislation,” Cassidy said.
While the bill failed to move to the Senate floor Wednesday, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he’ll bring it up again.
