Justice Act[edit]
After Floyd's killing and widespread protests, Scott was given responsibility to lead the drafting of a Senate Republican bill on race and police reform.[100] He reacted to skeptical reactions he had received from others in the black community by tweeting, "Not surprising the last 24 hours have seen a lot of 'token' 'boy' or 'you're being used' in my mentions" and "Let me get this straight ... you DON'T want the person who has faced racial profiling by police, been pulled over dozens of times, or been speaking out for YEARS drafting this?".[100]
Scott's 106-page bill, the Justice Act, would install about a dozen new provisions to address policing concerns, key among them:
- The legislation would increase federal reporting requirements for use of force, no-knock warrants. It would also increase penalties for false police reports.[101]
- It seeks to encourage chokehold bans through this added transparency and by withholding funding for police departments without bans on chokeholds except when deadly force is authorized.[101]
- The effort also looks to up use of police body cameras with grant programs, and penalties for failing to use the cameras.[101]
- It creates a database of police disciplinary records for law enforcement departments to use in their hiring practices.[101]
- It makes lynching a federal crime, which is linked to an effort that passed in the House but had stalled in the Senate.[101]
- It directs the Justice Department to develop and provide training on deescalation tactics and implement duty-to-intervene policies.[101]
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called Scott's bill "inadequate",[102] and she later said Republicans "understand that there's a need to get something done. ... They admit that and have some suggestions that are worthy of consideration—but so far, they were trying to get away with murder, actually—the murder of George Floyd."[103] Senate Minority Whip Democrat Dick Durbin called the bill "token" legislation.[104] Two Democrats and one Independent senator who caucuses with Democrats broke with the party to support Scott's bill, but ultimately Democrats managed to block the bill from being brought up for debate by withholding the 60 votes needed; it received 55 votes in the Senate.[105]
