The Senate strongly condemns anti-Asian hate crimes by passing new bill

The Senate — in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote on Thursday — sent Congress’s strongest message yet condemning anti-Asian hate crimes by passing a bill aimed at improving data collection.

The legislation, while somewhat narrow, intends to bolster hate crime tracking by designating a Justice Department official to specifically review potential hate crime incidents, providing grants for regional law enforcement agencies to set up reporting hotlines, and offering training to police on how to handle hate crime response.

It ultimately passed 94-1 with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) as the lone vote against it. Hawley has previously said he opposed the measure because it was too “broad” even though the changes it proposed were relatively modest.