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I
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 6721
To facilitate the expedited review of COVID–19 hate crimes, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 5, 2020
Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs.
WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr.
BLUMENAUER, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms.
ESHOO, Mr. KILMER, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. JACKSON
LEE, and Mr.
CISNEROS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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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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) REPORT.—On the date that is 30 days after the
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designation under subsection (a), and every 30 days there-
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after, the officer or employee shall submit to Congress a
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report on the status of each case reviewed under sub-
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section (a), including—
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(1) any resources provided to complainants;
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(2) any actions taken to further the investiga-
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tion of the incidents; and
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(3) data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, socio-
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economic background, of the victim and location of
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occurrence.
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(c) 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, color, reli-
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gion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender,
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gender identity, or disability 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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Æ
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