The Leadership Conference Applauds President Biden’s Promise to Veto Measure Overturning D.C. Policing Reform

Justice Reform News 03.30,23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mattie Goldman, [email protected]

WASHINGTON – Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after President Biden announced he would veto a resolution of disapproval to override Washington, D.C.’s policing reform bill:

“For democracy to work for all of us, it must include all of us. We applaud the Biden administration’s commitment to vetoing H.J. Res. 42, which would undermine democracy and civil rights and deny police accountability and transparency for residents of the nation’s capital. As the nation’s oldest and largest civil and human rights coalition dedicated to an America that lives up to its ideals, we denounce H.J. Res. 42, which would strike down the essential police accountability measures within Washington, D.C.’s Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 — and most egregiously, would reject D.C. residents’ autonomy and freedom to vote. Not only do D.C. residents have the right to have a voice in what laws should govern them, this majority Black city should have the right to say what accountability and transparency they are owed by their local police department. Majority Black localities deserve self-determination as much as majority white localities.

“We urge both chambers of Congress to reject this measure. And if this resolution of disapproval does reach President Biden’s desk, we wholeheartedly endorse his commitment to respect the autonomy and democratic decision-making of District residents.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org

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