WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — As protests over police brutality continue across the country, Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday acknowledged the Senate’s duty to advance reforms.
“I’d like to have a systematic approach to problems that continue to happen over and over again,” Graham said.
The senator led a hearing on policing with a panel of witnesses including the attorney for George Floyd, the mayor of Saint Paul and the Durham police chief.
The questioning mostly centered around the Democratic-led “Justice in Policing Act.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) pushed his colleagues to take up the bill.
“I worry in this moment, I really do, that we’re going to repeat history. That this is the movie ‘Groundhog Day,’” Booker said.
The Justice in Policing Act could reach the House floor as early as next week while Senate Republicans prepare their own bill led by South Carolina’s Tim Scott (R-SC).
“I think my colleagues and I have put together a good bill,” Scott said Monday.
Scott was in the Rose Garden Tuesday as President Donald Trump signed an executive order on police reform.
“The vast majority of police officers are selfless and courageous public servants,” President Trump said.
As the spotlight turns back to Congress, Graham hopes lawmakers on both sides will work together.
“Is it possible to find common ground,” he said. “The answer is obviously yes. If we want to.”
Scott’s bill is set to be introduced in the Senate on Wednesday.