A bipartisan group of Congress members announced they have reached a framework for overhauling police procedures and oversight, a publicly popular policy priority the GOP was reluctant to work on with Democrats, the Associated Press reports.
“After months of working in good faith, we have reached an agreement on a framework addressing the major issues for bipartisan police reform,” the statement from the group read. “There is still more work to be done on the final bill, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. Over the next few weeks we look forward to continuing our work toward getting a finalized proposal across the finish line.”
Five members of Congress worked on the deal: Sens. Tim Scott (R SC) Cory Booker, (D NJ), Richard Durbin (D IL), Lindsey Graham (R SC) and Rep. Karen Bass (D CA) For some reason, Durbin’s and Graham’s names were not included on the statement.
Police oversight and reform has been a key issue for Democrats for years, and particularly came into the spotlight after the death of George Floyd 13 months ago. Last year, Republicans attempted to push legislation through, however Democrats balked at the proposal because they were largely shut out of the process.
While the announcement would seem like a significant achievement, the lack of detail in the announcement indicates that there’s still a significant gap sitting between the two sides. Democrats are pushing for a revocation of parts of qualified immunity, which isolate individual police officers from consequences for their on-duty actions. Republicans object to any easing of qualified immunity.
Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott, who heads the Republican Senate Campaign Committee, said that a failure to craft a bill relating to police oversight would be a victory for Senate Republicans seeking reelection.
“Republicans are known for supporting law enforcement. We’re known for trying to bring crime down,” Scott said.