CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. Senate failed to advance a police bill on Wednesday as Democrats continued skepticism if the legislation does enough to address police violence.
The chamber needed 60 votes to move the JUSTICE Act forward, but only 55 senators voted in favor of the motion. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., supported debate on the legislation, as did fellow Democrat Doug Jones of Alabama and independent Angus King of Maine.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., changed his vote to “nay” so he could put the motion forward again at a later date.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — the chamber’s only Black Republican — introduced the JUSTICE Act. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is a co-sponsor of the legislation.
“This was an opportunity we should have grasped,” Capito said on the Senate floor. “We had a chance to discuss the need for police reform and look at the very, very serious issues of racial inequalities, and I am exceedingly, exceedingly disappointed.”
Provisions of the JUSTICE Act include a federal training program on de-escalation, a grant program for officer body cameras and sharing officer records to allow law enforcement access to possible applicants’ work history in another area. The measure also would lead to the creation of a commission studying “conditions affecting black men and boys … and the criminal justice system as a whole.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized McConnell and the legislative process for the bill following Wednesday’s vote.
“When Leader McConnell scheduled a vote, he led the Senate to a cul-de-sac, a dead-end, a bridge to nowhere,” he said. “His claim that he wanted a bipartisan bill was belied by the fact that there was no Democratic input into either the bill or the procedure. None.”
The Congressional Black Caucus and multiple groups — including the NAACP and ACLU — pushed for the Senate to vote against the measure, arguing the JUSTICE Act does not do enough to prevent actions that led to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The organizations noted their priorities in a letter to lawmakers, which include prohibiting the use of force in most cases and banning chokeholds.
The JUSTICE Act would incentivize banning chokeholds. Capito said she supports prohibiting chokeholds “in any circumstance.”
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called the Republican bill “crumbs on the table.”
“Let the beginning be today of a real conversation where the United States Congress will do its job in meeting the moment and responding to the demands of the people and doing what is well within our grasps to take at least one step close to that ideal of equal justice under the law,” she said.
Harris supports the House of Representatives’ Justice in Policing Act; the bill would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants by federal officials and limit the transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement.
Scott said he and McConnell were open to having Democrats propose 20 amendments to the JUSTICE Act.
“You see, this process is not broken because of the legislation. This is a broken process beyond that one piece of legislation,” Scott said on the Senate floor. “It’s one of the reasons why communities of color, young Americas of all colors are losing faith in the institutions of authority and power in this nation because we’re playing small ball.”
Scott added Democrats rejected the bill because of its Republican sponsorship and this year’s election.
“The irony of the story is that today and through the rest of June and all of July is instead of getting 70% of what you wanted or more, you’re going to get zero,” he said.
Manchin explained his vote in a press release, saying the Senate needs to work together to address racial injustice.
“We must unite to discuss real reforms instead of fueling the partisan divisions that plague our legislative body,” he said.
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives will vote Thursday on the Justice in Policing Act, which the chamber will likely pass.