S937-117 · 117th Congress
Signed
Signed May 20, 2021COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
COVID - 19 Hate Crimes Act This bill requires a designated officer or employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes. It defines COVID-19 hate crime as a violent crime that is motivated by two things: (1) the actual or perceived characteristic (e.g., race or ethnicity) of any person, and (2) the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19 of any person because of that characteristic. The bill requires DOJ to issue guidance for state and local law enforcement agencies on how to establish online hate crime reporting processes in multiple languages and how to expand culturally competent education campaigns. Additionally, DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services must issue guidance on best practices for mitigating racially discriminatory language in describing the COVID-19 pandemic.
VOTE BREAKDOWN
Final passage · 367 politicians tracked
312
YEA
47
NAY
0
PRESENT
8
NOT VOTING
Dem YEA 176Ind YEA 2Rep NAY 47Rep YEA 134
BY PARTY · ✕ NAY ← | → YEA ✓
DEM
0
176
REP
47
134
IND
0
2
MONEY ON THIS BILL
Which donor industries fund each side of the vote — total contributions from that industry to those members, all cycles · plus lobbying activity in affected industries
⬆ YEA voters — top donor industries
- 1. Lawyers & Lobbyists$253.6M
- 2. Securities & Investment$185.2M
- 3. Health Services$167.2M
⬇ NAY voters — top donor industries
- 1. Lawyers & Lobbyists$11.8M
- 2. Health Services$10.3M
- 3. Agriculture$9.0M
◎ Lobbying activity by issue area
No bill-issue lobbying matches.
Dollar figures are each industry's total contributions to those members across all tracked cycles — not money given for this specific bill. Statistical patterns in public records; correlation, not causation.
INDIVIDUAL VOTES
Recorded positions for tracked politicians
SPONSORS
Mazie K. Hirono
D-HI · Primary
35 COSPONSORS
DEMOCRATIC● 33 D● 2 I
+29 more (see dot grid above)
SPONSOR FUNDING
Top industries funding Hirono
Lawyers & Lobbyists32%
Lawyers & Lobbyists 32% of classified donations
Labor Unions9%
Labor Unions 9% of classified donations
Health Services5%
Health Services 5% of classified donations
Single-Issue Advocacy5%
Single-Issue Advocacy 5% of classified donations
Defense & Aerospace4%
Defense & Aerospace 4% of classified donations
TRAIL AI
The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S 937) addresses hate crimes and discrimination motivated by COVID-19 related animus, including crimes targeting individuals based on perceived national origin or ethnicity. The bill was signed into law with House passage voting 311 to 47, with all 176 voting Democrats in favor and no Democratic opposition, while 133 Republicans voted yes and 47 voted no. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii.
Based on public voting records. Does not imply causation.
TIMELINE
INTRODUCEDMar 23, 2021
PASSED SENATEApr 22, 2021
SIGNEDMay 20, 2021
DATA SOURCES
Bill data: Congress.gov · 117th–119th Congress (2021–present)
Vote records: House Clerk / Senate · 2021–present
Reflects public records. Does not imply causation.