Washington, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following statement, as prepared, on the House floor in support of H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act:

"Last summer, millions of Americans, all across the country, took to the streets to demand fundamental change in the culture of law enforcement, and to call for meaningful accountability for officers who commit misconduct.

"The catalyst for these protests was the tragic and brutal death of George Floyd.  None of us can forget the image of that officer’s knee pinned to his neck for nearly 8 agonizing minutes, or the sound of his anguished pleas of 'I can’t breathe' that were ignored until his final breath was taken from him.

"After his death, the world awoke to the daily indignities, and sometimes the brutality, that too many people—disproportionately Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, people living in poverty, and people with disabilities—face in their interactions with law enforcement throughout the country.

"We value and respect the many brave and honorable police officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect us and our communities.  We know that most law enforcement officers do their jobs with dignity, selflessness, and honor, and they are deserving of our respect and gratitude for all they do to keep us safe.

"But we must also acknowledge that there are too many exceptions.  The reality for too many Americans, especially many Black Americans, is that police officers are perceived as a threat to their liberties, to their dignity, and—too often—to their safety.

"Sadly, our country’s history of racism and racially motivated violence continues to haunt our nation.

"We see it in the rates of COVID deaths, in our system of mass incarceration, and in the vast chasm of economic inequality—all of which fall disproportionately on the backs of African Americans—and we see it in the harassment and excessive force that many people of color routinely experience by law enforcement.

"That is why we must act today.

"The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would allow for meaningful accountability in cases of police misconduct.  It also effectively bans chokeholds, ends racial and religious profiling, ends no-knock warrants in drug cases, and limits the militarization of local policing.

"It encourages departments to meet a gold standard in training and other best practices to reduce police bias and violence.  And it requires significant data collection, including the first-ever national database on police-misconduct incidents to prevent the movement of dangerous officers from department to department.

"In addition, this legislation creates a process to reimagine how public safety could work in a truly equitable and just way in each community.

"Last summer, within weeks of the protests that galvanized the nation, the House passed the legislation before us today.  Unfortunately, the pleas for justice that rang out in the streets fell on deaf ears in the Senate.

"Since then, over 600 more people—disproportionately people of color—have been killed by law enforcement officers.

"The time for action is now.

"I want to thank the Gentlewoman from California, Ms. Bass, for crafting this bold, yet responsible, legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time."