Ahead of Anniversary, Pressley Introduced Suite of Bills to Transform Criminal Legal System, Improve Police Accountability

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) released the following statement marking the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. Last week, ahead of the anniversary, Congresswoman Pressley reintroduced the People’s Justice Guarantee (PJG), the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, and the Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act – a suite of bills that collectively would help build a fair, equitable, and just legal system in America, and improve police accountability.

“George Floyd should be alive today. Like every Black man, he deserved to grow old, to laugh with his children, to love and be loved. But five years ago today, George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight by police—a harrowing reminder of the brutal, state-sanctioned violence that Black folks in America have endured for generations and that we continue to endure to this day.

“In the days and weeks that followed, America underwent a so-called ‘reckoning’ on racial injustice. People from every corner of this country mobilized, demanding justice, accountability, and transformative change. But five years later, meaningful policy change remains stalled in Congress, corporations are backing away from their commitments to racial equity, and a white supremacist once again occupies the White House—continuing his unprecedented assault on Black America, rolling back policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and advancing harmful executive actions to ‘unleash law enforcement’ and threaten Black lives. Without meaningful policy and budget change, the unjust status quo will persist, and we will continue to be robbed of innocent lives.

“This anniversary must be more than hashtags, performative statements, and remembrance—it must be a recommitment to dismantling the systems of oppression that enabled George Floyd’s murder and the killing of many, many others. That means continuing to advance policies like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and my People’s Justice Guarantee, Ending Qualified Immunity Act, and Andrew Kearse Act, which I was proud to re-introduce this past week. It means legislating to affirm housing, healthcare, food security, and education as the human rights that they are. It means centering compassion, accountability, and healing in our policymaking—not cruelty, criminalization, and incarceration.

“We’ll never have true justice for George Floyd. True justice would be George Floyd alive today, at home with his fiancée, children, and siblings. As we mark this somber anniversary, we owe it to George, his family, and everyone killed at the hands of law enforcement to continue governing like lives depend on it and building a more just America where everyone can thrive and live free from fear.”

In April 2021, Congresswoman Pressley authored an op-ed in USA Today in which she responded to reports that the guilty verdicts in the Derek Chauvin trial have reduced the appetite amongst lawmakers—in both parties—for action on police reform. In the op-ed, Rep. Pressley called for meaningful policy and budget change to dismantle every system that finances and perpetuates brutality, murder and state-sanctioned violence at home and abroad.

Congresswoman Pressley has introduced over a dozen pieces of precise legislation informed by the People’s Justice Guarantee to fundamentally redefine what justice looks like in America, including the Ending Qualified Immunity Act and Andrew Kearse Accountability for the Denial of Medical Care Act.

Congresswoman Pressley also led calls in Congress for President Biden to use his clemency authority to address mass incarceration and has applauded the President for granting clemency to thousands of people and commended him for commuting the death sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row.

• In June 2023, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12)unveiled the Housing for Formerly Incarcerated Reentry and Stable Tenancy (Housing FIRST) Act, bold legislation to help people who are formerly incarcerated and those with criminal histories access safe and stable housing.
• In May 2023, Rep. Pressley reintroduced her Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act to improve maternal health care and support for pregnant individuals who are incarcerated. It was originally introduced in March 2020 and reintroduced in February 2021 as part of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Package—a suite of 12 bills aimed at addressing the Black maternal health crisis.
• In May 2023, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Co-Chair of the Mental Health Caucus, requested the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to research post-traumatic prison disorder and share findings related to prevention and treatment for people returning from behind the wall.
• In April 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) re-introduced their Ending Qualified Immunity Act, legislation that would eliminate the unjust and court-invented doctrine of qualified immunity and restore the ability for people to obtain relief when state and local officials, including police officers, violate their legal and constitutionally secured rights. Rep. Pressley originally introduced the bill in June 2020 with Rep. Justin Amash (L-MI) and reintroduced it with Sen. Markey in March 2021.
• On April 6, 2023, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Hank Johnson led 25 of their colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in calling on Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation to address racial disparities in traffic enforcement.
• In April 2023, Rep. Pressley, in partnership with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), re-introduced the Ending PUSHOUT Act, their legislation to end the punitive pushout of girls of color from schools. It was originally introduced in December 2019 and reintroduced in March 2021.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley, Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) and 27 Members of Congress, alongside more than 300 advocacy organizations and community leaders, reintroduced the New Way Forward Act, a landmark piece of legislation that addresses some of the most harmful provisions of immigration law that drive racist enforcement practices, expanded incarceration in immigration detention centers, and unjust deportations. It was originally introduced in December 2019 Reps. Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Karen Bass (CA-37) and was reintroduced in January 2021.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues re-introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act to stop federal entities’ use of facial recognition tools and prohibit federal support for state and local law enforcement entities that use biometric technology. They reintroduced the bill in June 2021.
• In December 2022, the House passed Congresswoman Pressley’s amendment to strengthen maternal health care for people who are incarcerated.
• In December 2021, Rep. Pressley unveiled the Fair and Independent Experts in Clemency (FIX Clemency) Act, historic legislation to transform our nation’s clemency system and address the mass incarceration crisis.
• In March 2021, Rep. Pressley sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to consider H. Res. 266, the People’s Justice Guarantee, as a framework for embedding justice in our criminal legal system and building integrity in the Department of Justice (DOJ). 
• In February 2021, October 2020, Congresswoman Pressley reintroduced the Mental Health Justice Act with Reps. Katie Porter (CA-45), Tony Cardenas (CA-29), and Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), to support the creation of mental health first responder units that would be deployed in lieu of law enforcement when 911 is called due to a mental health crisis. The lawmakers originally introduced the legislation in October 2020.
• In January 2021, she reintroduced the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021 with Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level, and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. The lawmakers originally introduced the bill in July 2019.
• In August 2020, she introduced the COVID-19 in Corrections Data Transparency Act with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and others, requires federal, state, and local prisons and jails to collect and publicly report COVID-19 data. The legislation was reintroduced last month.
• In July 2020, she introduced the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act with Reps. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), to prohibit federal funds to support the increased presence of police in K-12 schools and supports school districts that invests in counselors.
• In June 2020, she introduced the Dismantle Mass Incarceration for Public Health Act with Reps. Tlaib (MI-13) and Barbara Lee (CA-13) to require decarceration to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and jails.
• In June 2020, she introduced the Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ed Markey (D-MA), to hold police officers criminally liable for denying care to those in medical distress.
• In May 2020, she introduced a resolution with Reps. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Karen Bass (CA-37) and Barbara Lee (CA-13) to condemn any and all acts of police brutality, racial profiling, and militarization and over-policing of Black and brown communities.  
• In July 2019, she introduced the No Biometric Barriers Housing Act with Reps. Yvette Clarke (NY-09) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) that would prohibit the use of biometric recognition technology in most public and assisted housing units funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), protecting tenants from biased surveillance technology. 
• In June 2019, in conjunction with Gun Violence Awareness Month and the 5th Annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, she introduced a resolution to honor survivors of homicide victims by establishing National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month. 

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