Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Tuesday issued a stern criticism of Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, who said the GOP has "Schumer with a chokehold in the JUSTICE Act and our opportunity for police reform in America."
Schumer tweeted:
"Chokeholds aren't a joking matter. The fact that they're joking about chokeholds instead of actually banning them shows that the Republicans never took this seriously."
Barrasso made the comments during a GOP luncheon Tuesday where he criticized Schumer and other Democrats who are poised to vote against the bill.
Schumer also called Republican's policing bill "irrevocably flawed," and a "nonstarter."
Senate Republicans unveiled the Justice Act last Wednesday. It includes incentives for police departments to ban chokeholds, more disclosure requirements about the use of force and no-knock warrants, and penalties for false reports. It also makes lynching a federal hate crime, incudes emergency grant programs for body cameras and creates a commission to study the conditions facing black men and boys.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the only Black Republican in the upper chamber, introduced the legislation.
Democrats want, among other things, more stiff language concerning the use of submission holds like chokeholds. Many in the Democratic Party have also discussed "defunding" police agencies, which involves shifting money earmarked for those departments to other entities and agencies that can provide social services and community support in place of law enforcement.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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