{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-grassley-call-for-hearing-on-hate-crimes-against-asian-americans", "Cotton, Grassley Call for Hearing on Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans", "2021-04-13", "2021", "2021-04", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nContact: James Arnold or Mary Collins Atkinson (202) 224-2353\n\nApril 13, 2021\n\nCotton, Grassley Call for Hearing on Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today called for the committee to convene a hearing on hate crimes against Asian Americans.\n\n\u201cWe are concerned to see that such an important issue has not already received Committee or Subcommittee attention. Instead, S. 937, the \u2018COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act,\u2019 has been moved to the Senate floor with little commentary, factfinding, or Committee consideration. We believe the Senate should have the benefit of hearing from the Department of Justice before blindly acting on this issue,\u201d the senators wrote in a letter to committee chairman Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and subcommittee chairman Cory Booker (D-New Jersey).\n\nLast month, Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a 30-day review of how hate crimes are tracked and prosecuted amid an uptick in crimes targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Senators called on the committee Democrats to convene a hearing as soon as the Justice Department\u2019s review is completed to examine its findings.\n\nText of the letter can be found here and below.\n\nDear Chairman Durbin and Chairman Booker:\n\nWe write today to request a hearing of the full Committee or the Crime Subcommittee related to the rise in violent crime across the country, in particular the surge in violent crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).\n\nEvery one of us is horrified to see incidents in which our fellow Americans are attacked because of their race or ethnicity. We understand that Attorney General Garland is conducting a 30-day review of violence against AAPI Americans, which we hope will improve the federal government\u2019s capacity to track and identify hate crimes, review civil enforcement authorities, and assess whether additional resources are needed to support law enforcement\u2019s response to this violence. This review is scheduled to be completed in the coming weeks.\n\nCongress\u2019s attention to the findings of this review, including whether there is a need for additional resources or to adjust relevant legal authorities, will be necessary. We request a hearing on this issue at the earliest possible opportunity after that review is completed.\n\nWe are concerned to see that such an important issue has not already received Committee or Subcommittee attention. Instead, S. 937, the \u201cCOVID-19 Hate Crimes Act,\u201d has been moved to the Senate floor with little commentary, factfinding, or Committee consideration. We believe the Senate should have the benefit of hearing from the Department of Justice before blindly acting on this issue. As we know that each of you believes very strongly in the importance of Committee process, we hope you will support this request.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:42:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-grassley-call-for-hearing-on-hate-crimes-against-asian-americans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7294230163097382, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}