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I
117TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1843
To facilitate the expedited review of COVID–19 hate crimes, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 11, 2021
Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SAN NICOLAS,
Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms.
KUSTER, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. PAYNE, Ms.
MCCOLLUM, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms.
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of
New York, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. RUSH, Ms. CHU,
Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. CARSON, Mr. TRONE,
Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. BUSH, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsyl-
vania, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr.
GRIJALVA, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. LIEU, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. KIND,
Mr. JONES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. ROSS, Ms.
BASS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. LEE of
California, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr.
DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. CONNOLLY,
Ms. ESHOO, and Mr. LEVIN of California) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To facilitate the expedited review of COVID–19 hate crimes,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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•HR 1843 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Hate
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Crimes Act’’.
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SEC. 2. REVIEW OF COVID–19 HATE CRIMES.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after the
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date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
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shall designate an officer or employee of the Department
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of Justice whose sole responsibility during the applicable
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period shall be to facilitate the expedited review of
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COVID–19 hate crimes and reports of any such crime to
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Federal, State, or local law enforcement agencies.
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(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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(1) The term ‘‘applicable period’’ means the pe-
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riod beginning on the date on which the officer or
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employee is designated under subsection (a), and
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ending on the date that is one year after the date
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on which the emergency period described in subpara-
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graph (B) of section 1135(g)(1) of the Social Secu-
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rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)) ends, except
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that the Attorney General may extend such period
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as appropriate.
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(2) The term ‘‘COVID–19 hate crime’’ means
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a crime of violence (as such term is defined under
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title 18, United States Code) that is motivated by—
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(A) the actual or perceived race, ethnicity,
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age, color, religion, national origin, sexual ori-
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•HR 1843 IH
entation, gender, gender identity, or disability
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of any person; and
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(B) the actual or perceived relationship to
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the spread of COVID–19 of any person because
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of the characteristic described in subparagraph
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(A).
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SEC. 3. GUIDANCE.
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(a) GUIDANCE
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGEN-
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CIES.—The Attorney General shall issue guidance for
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State and local law enforcement agencies on the following:
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(1) The establishment of online reporting of
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hate crimes or incidents, and the availability of on-
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line reporting in multiple languages.
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(2) The expansion of culturally competent and
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linguistically appropriate public education cam-
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paigns, and the collection of data and public report-
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ing of hate crimes.
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(b) BEST PRACTICES TO DESCRIBE THE COVID–19
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PANDEMIC.—The Attorney General and the Secretary of
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Health and Human Services, in coordination with the
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COVID–19 Health Equity Task Force and community-
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based organizations, shall issue guidance describing best
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practices to mitigate racially discriminatory language in
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describing the COVID–19 pandemic.
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Æ
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