WASHINGTON (AP) —
Congress convened Monday with protests outside its door and across the nation, the Capitol already struck by the COVID-19 outbreak now confronting a deepening crisis over the treatment of black people in the United States.
The civil unrest over the death of
George Floyd at the hands of police combined with the coronavirus pandemic that's disproportionately striking African Americans sparked an urgent plea for understanding from some leaders as the world watches a nation in turmoil.
Notably, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell read into the Senate record the names of black people who have died at the hands of the police. George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor.
"To me," McConnell, R-Ky., said in a speech in the Senate chamber, and to "millions of outraged Americans, these disturbing events do not look like three isolated incidents. They look more like the latest chapter in our national struggle to make equal just and equal protection under the law a fact of life for all Americans."
House and Senate lawmakers swiftly began drafting legislation to address police violence and confront the inequities facing black Americans. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., proposed a sweeping overhaul of law enforcement procedures. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., pushed to establish the first U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation, backed by a civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. House Democrats, working from home from because of health risks convening during the pandemic, met over a lengthy conference call on next steps.
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