Tim Scott Criticizes Democrats for ‘George Floyd’ Bill After Filibustering His Police Reforms

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) criticized House Democrats on Tuesday over their forthcoming police reform bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (JIPA), after Senate Democrats filibustered his JUSTICE Act last year, despite bipartisan support.

“I am disappointed that the House has decided to vote on a partisan bill in an attempt to fix a non-partisan issue,” Scott said.

Scott had spent years working on criminal justice reform — long before the Black Lives Matter protests and riots in 2020.

His original bill, the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE Act), included several measures long sought by advocates of police reform, including incentives for chokehold bans and grants for body cameras.

Last year, the GOP provided a brief comparison of the two original bills, H.R. 7120 (JIPA) and S. 3985 (JUSTICE). JIPA is being reintroduced as H.R. 1280 (JIPA); both versions of the House legislation were sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA).

As Scott observed, the bills overlapped on many issues.

“The actual problem is not what is being offered; it is who is offering it,” a visibly frustrated Scott told the Senate last year.

Democrats’ effort to impose a policy rather than pass a bipartisan bill repeats a pattern seen in 2012, when Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced a bill to help “Dreamers” — illegal aliens brought to the country as minors — only to watch as President Barack Obama introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), going around Congress.

“I hope my friends on the other side of the aisle will come to the table to find common ground where we can make meaningful changes that will bring us closer to the goal of a more just country,” Scott said Tuesday.