U.S. Senate Republicans have proposed an amendment that would bar universities that discriminate against Asian-Americans from receiving federal funding. It was defeated in the Senate on Thursday (April 22) after failing to gain support from Democrats.
The amendment, “SA1456,” sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, is an amendment to the Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Act sponsored by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.
The Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Act, which passed the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 94 to 1, aims to address the spike in attacks against the Asian-American community during the COVID-19 (Chinese Communist virus) epidemic.
The bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to create new positions to facilitate expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes and hate crime reports.
Prior to Thursday’s vote, Republicans also offered a series of amendments, but none were supported by Democrats.
Cruz’s proposed amendment seeks to ban federal funding for universities that discriminate against Asians. The amendment would bar universities from receiving federal funding if they have “policies or practices that discriminate against Asian Americans in recruitment, applicant screening or admissions.
Every Democrat in the Senate voted against Cruz’s amendment, which failed by a vote of 49-48. The amendment needed the support of three-fifths (60 votes) of the full House to pass.
In a previous interview with the Houston Chronicle, Cruz said the Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Act is not designed to prevent or punish actual crimes against Asians.
“Rather, it is a Democratic messaging tool designed to promote the patently false perception – which is somehow racist – of not recognizing that Covid-19 originated in Wuhan, China, and of not recognizing that the fact that the Chinese Communist Party actively lied and suppressed information about the epidemic to make it a global pandemic.” Cruz said.
If Democrats are serious about hate and racism, he said, then they should address the issue of college admissions policies that discriminate against Asians, rather than ignoring the matter because it doesn’t fit into their messaging tactics.
The Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Act passed the Senate by a vote of 94-1, with only Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri voting against it.
As an Asian American, I will just leave this here. pic.twitter.com/s7cM9dIofV
- Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) April 22,2021
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