WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Talks resumed Thursday on a police reform proposal currently stalled in the Senate.
“I’m always optimistic,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said Thursday.
Leading the discussion was Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Democrats New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and California Congresswoman Karen Bass as they met with families impacted by police violence on Capitol Hill.
“What the family members who spoke to me want is progress they can measure in a meaningful way,” Scott said.
Scott is the Republican lead on police reform and introduced his own bill last summer that failed to advance in the senate now he’s working with Democrats to find common ground.
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Scott is making progress.
“He’s been having probably even more meetings with our democrat counterparts to say let’s get this done,” Tillis said Wednesday.
During his first address to Congress, President Joe Biden set a deadline of May 25th for the legislation to get to his desk, the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.
“We’ve all seen a knee on the neck of black America now’s our opportunity to make some real progress,” President Biden said.
Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine (D-VA) said it’s hard to predict if senators will meet the deadline set by President Biden but Kaine said the momentum is there.
“We need to do it,” Kaine said Thursday.
“I think the best thing I can do is keep in mind why we’re doing what we’re doing.” Scott said.
Scott said the bipartisan lawmakers will continue working together to find a solution.
