Mazie Hirono - Mr. president as the author of this bill, I totally disagree with characterizing this bill as having a bitter partisan beginning.
But, my colleague is exercising his free speech rights, so there you go.
Mr. president, after two weeks of hard work and bi-partisan collaboration, the United States Senate is poised to take real action to confront the wave of anti-Asian sweeping our country.
Although we still have some damaging amendments to defeat, I ah confident that in a few hours, the Senate will pass the COVID-19/Hate crime Act as amended to substitute the Hirono/Collins amendments.
By doing so, we will send a powerful message of solidarity to the AAPI community that the Senate will not be a bystander as anti-Asian violence surges in our country.
Over the past years, hate crimes targeting AAPIs has risen 150% as noted. More than 3,800 incidents have been reported across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
These statistics paint a disturbing picture of what's happening in our country. But, they only quantify part of the problem. Why?
Because hate crimes and other incidents are notoriously under represented. These attacks had not ceased in the two weeks since the Senate began debating this bill.
Last Sunday, an 80 year old woman and her 79 year old husband, both of Korean descent, were taking an evening walk near a local park near their home in Southern California.
Suddenly, without warning, an assailant approached the couple and punched them in their faces. That same assailant is also suspected of threatening Sakura Kokumai, a Japanese-American karate athlete, who incidentally was born in Hawaii.
These unprovoked, random attacks and incidents are happening in supermarkets, on our streets and take-out restaurants. Basically, wherever we are. These disturbing and horrifying attacks are in many ways a predictable and foreseeable consequence of the use of racist and inflammatory language...
Transcription service by Weiner Marthone
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