House passes police reform bill named after George Floyd

In a vote mostly along party lines, the House on Wednesday night passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds and certain no-knock warrants, create a national database to track police misconduct cases, make it easier to hold officers accountable for misconduct in civil and criminal court, and end racial and religious profiling.

Last May, Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man, died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for more than nine minutes, and his death sparked worldwide protests against police brutality.

Two Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Ron Kind of Wisconsin, voted against the bill, while Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) said he accidentally voted for it, and will submit a correction. The measure passed in the House last summer, and was reintroduced in February by Democrats eager to see it made into law, now that the White House and Senate are also controlled by Democrats.

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During the House floor debate, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said a "profession where you have the power to kill should be a profession that requires highly-trained officers who are accountable to the public." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) pushed back at Republicans who argue that this measure takes money away from police departments and puts officers in danger, saying, "It would be an irresponsible policy to defund the police, and we are not for that. You can say it, over and over and over again. It will be a lie, no matter how well it serves your political purposes."