Biden to meet with George Floyd’s family ahead of anniversary of his death
Written by Luck Wilson on August 11, 2021
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — President Joe Biden will honor George Floyd on the one year anniversary of his death this Tuesday by meeting members of his family to discuss police reform.
The meeting will go ahead as scheduled even though Congress is stalled on a police reform bill that is named after Floyd — George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — which was passed by the House of Representatives after it was introduced in June 2020.
President Biden set a deadline for the Senate to pass the act, wanting senators to act before Floyd’s anniversary.
Following the guilty verdicts against ex-police officer Derek Chauvin last month, President Biden spoke with Floyd’s family and promised over the phone to them, “We’re going to get a lot more done, we’re going to do a lot. We’re going to stay at it til we get it done.”
During his first joint address to Congress in April, the president said, “My fellow Americans, we have to come together to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, to root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system, and to enact police reform in George Floyd’s name that passed the House already.”
“We need to work together to find a consensus. But let’s get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death,” he added.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged last week that the deadline would not be met, telling reporters that Congress remains at odds over key provisions of the bill.
“They’re continuing to have good discussions. And that is a positive sign,” Psaki said of the lawmakers, who are at odds over how far the bill should push.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, a Republican, proposed a counter measure — but Democrats blocked it saying it did not go far enough.
It is unknown when or if the president will set a new deadline but Psaki said President Biden would “sign it into law as quickly as possible” when — or if — it reaches his desk.
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