Legislation - which was led by the Congressional Black Caucus, the Democrats of the House Judiciary and the Democrats meaningless. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey - comes as the country is shocked by the recent death of several black Americans at the hands of the police, including George Floyd, who died last month in Minneapolis after a policeman white knelt on the neck for more than eight minutes.
"The world is witnessing the birth of a new movement in our country," Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass said Monday at the press conference where the Democrats officially unveiled the legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Congress "cannot be satisfied with anything less than transformative structural change". But the proposal, which does not yet have Republican co-sponsors, would need bipartisan support to pass the Senate.
The legislation is the most extensive effort in recent years to crack down on police practices in the United States at the federal level, but it is expected to face strong resistance from Republicans, police unions, and local officials who don't want Washington to interfere in their politics. manufacturing.
"This is a powerful movement and it has made legislation like this possible, which was probably impossible a month ago," Booker told CNN in an interview on Sunday.
According to a summary document obtained by CNN, the legislation includes a ban on strangulation, as well as the creation of a national register of police misconduct "to prevent officers in difficulty from changing jurisdiction to avoid liability".
The bill also encourages states and localities to make racial bias training mandatory and to educate officers about their "duty to intervene". The bill establishes certain restrictions on the transfer of military grade equipment to national and local law enforcement and requires uniformed federal police to wear body cameras.
It also includes an anti-lynching law that lingers in the Senate. The anti-lynching bill sparked emotional debate in the Senate last week when Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky attempted to change the law, which he said was too broad. Senators Harris and Booker objected just as Floyd's memorial service was underway thousands of miles away.
"It was just a shame he did it that day. It was unnecessary and frankly very painful for many people," said Booker.
The legislative initiative is only the beginning of the action of the Congress. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on policing and surveillance. Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd is expected to testify, according to an assistant to the committee.
The legislative effort comes as protests against police brutality and in favor of racial justice have sprung up across the country in big cities as well as in rural communities. Over the weekend, thousands of walkers in Washington, DC, gathered on the National Mall. Rallies, vigils and protests made the headlines in rural Montana on the streets of Portland, Maine.
"So many Americans have taken to the streets across the country. Blacks, whites, Latinos, Asians, young, old, gay, straight, citizens, dreamers - people across the spectrum of the magnificent mosaic of the American people say enough is enough, and Congress must hear these cries and act accordingly, and that is what the Democrats in the House intend to do, "New York Democrat Representative Hakeem Jeffries told Dana on Sunday. Bash on CNN's "Inside Politics".
Democrats unveil their police laws at a time when some leftist activists are calling for broader efforts to fund the police. Some Liberal legislators have expressed support for the movement, while others have proposed more nuanced approaches to funding.
Pelosi did not respond directly when asked on Monday whether she supported local efforts to reimburse the police.
"The fact is, we have a lot of laws to come that address some of the concerns of our communities across the country," said Pelosi. She suggested that people should "have these debates at the local level".
"It is a local decision," she said, "but that does not mean that we will stack more money to further militarize the police."
Republicans have yet to signal support for Democratic police legislation released on Monday. While Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, chairman of the Senate judicial committee, announced last week that he will hold a hearing on police brutality on June 16, many Republicans in the Senate have argued that Congress should not establish nationalized police policies and instead, states and localities should take their own action.
"It's sort of a classic Washington. You have an isolated and tragic event and people extrapolate that and suggest that this problem is an epidemic. And I think as terrible as what happened to Mr. Floyd and as much as he and his family deserve justice. You cannot paint with such a broad brush and condemn law enforcement and say it is a systemic failure, "said Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas. "The idea that suddenly Congress needs to end the public health crisis, which, by the way, will not go unresolved ... to deal with it is, I think, just hysteria."
Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri said he did not think it was possible to propose a nationalized legislative response for policing.
"I don't think you can find a national and binding answer on conduct or practice, or on a national manual that really makes sense for departments," he told CNN last week.
Jeffries rejected the Republicans' view that Congress should stay away.
"Some of my colleagues across the aisle on the other side of the Capitol want to keep burying their heads in the sand," said Jeffries.
"When it comes to the police I work with here in New York, the overwhelming majority are good, hard-working people who are in the community to protect and serve, but we cannot deny that we have far too many brutal officers ... We have to fight this phenomenon. This is why so many Americans have taken to the streets across the country. "
House Speaker Jerry Nadler has said he wants a committee vote next week.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday that Senate Democrats "will fight like hell to make this a reality" and pass the Senate Police Reform Act, directly appealing to the majority Senate, Mitch McConnell.
"We must collectively, all Americans, raise our voices and call on Chief McConnell to submit this Senate reform bill before July to be debated and voted on," adding, "Chief McConnell, we are going to have the debate, not only on television and on Twitter, but on the floor of the United States Senate. "
CNN's Clare Foran and Haley Byrd contributed to this report.
