i salute congresswoman karen bass who has been relentless, bercies tept, and absolutely courageous in her leadership on this legislation. thank you to the congressional blackhawks -- black caucus and chair, and judiciary chair, gerry 2345d letter, thank you. the george floyd justice in policing act, fundamentally transforms policing with strong unprecedented preform. this legislation will not erase centuries of systemic racism and excessive policing in america. it will not bring back george floyd, breonna taylor, say her name, breonna taylor, or the countless other men and women who died or were senselessly injured. but it will make a tremendous, take a tremendous step toward stop the violence, stem the suffering, and start to build a healthier, better relationship between law enforcement and communities that they respect. all of us here salute and are proudly -- profoundly grateful to our law enforcement here. i grew up in a family, public service family, my father my whole life at home was near baltimore. my brother was later, thomas, in baltimore. and they had a motto about the pol

karen bass of california, on the house judiciary and foreign affairs committee. thank you for joining us, as always. this legislation comes on top of $3 trillion of relief passed during the trump presidency. should americans feel confident that this massive new bill almost $2 trillion, is the last step we need to get the economy back on track or will more relief be necessary down the road? >> i am certainly hoping that it won't be. again, the president has said that we will have enough vaccines for all americans that want it by the end of may. and, clearly, with national leadership, we could put our arms around and contain and reduce the covid virus. and so i believe that that will help us get the economy back. but everybody needed the support. i'm very excited that we passed it out of the house today. >> the $3 trillion that was passed last year by congress under president trump, those were bipartisan efforts in the house and senate and, obviously, republican president trump. this legislation passed without a single republican vote in the house or the senate. wh

joining us now congresswoman karen bass, a democrat of california, a key member of the judiciary committeemediate past chair of the congressional black caucus as well. congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. so the senate has made changes to the covid relief bill that the house passed just the other day losing the $15 minimum wage increase, narrowing who gets stimulus checks, lowering unemployment benefits. democrats have no room for error in the senate given the 50-50 split there. does this, though, potentially risk losing votes, democratic votes in the house? >> well, i don't think so. i will tell you, though, the fight for $15 is going to continue until we get it done. but the american people need the relief immediately. and i thought it was shameful what senator johnson did. it was abusive to the staff who were just terrorized a couple of months ago that he made them sit there around the clock wasting their time reading the bill delaying. so you would think that my republican colleagues would want their own constituents to get the relief that's in the bill. >> yeah, overnight hai

i need to get to democratic congresswoman from california karen bass here. one of the lawmakers that led the passage of the george floyd in policing act in the house. she's also the former chair of the congressional black caucus. congresswoman, thanks for your time this morning where you are. first of all, your general reaction to the opening statements from the prosecution, from the defense. what do you make of it so far? >> frankly, the opening statements, especially from the prosecution, it was just difficult to hear. it was very difficult to see that tape again. frankly, i saw parts of the tape that i don't remember seeing before. to see his knee on his neck long after he was conscious and he just kept it there, it just seemed so cruel. to me, it's very hard for me to see that and not believe that he was really just punishing george floyd. then when i heard the defense talk about george floyd perhaps being intoxicated and all of that, it seems like such and incredible stretch. not understanding what one thing had to do with the other. i really appreciate

if it does, we will do everything we can to defeat it. >> congresswoman karen bass, thank you so muche your time this morning. >> thank you. >>> and one of the biggest school districts in the country is starting to send students back into schools beginning this tuesday after nearly a year at home. over the summer, i got a look at the struggle inside the suburban d.c.'s school system, and this week i returned to get a firsthand look at what it takes to prep for the bell to ring again. >> you have the screen for you, the plexiglass screen to keep you safe. >> at holmes middle school in fairfax county, virginia, teachers are training for some students to return to school for the first time in almost a year. >> you can still have the interaction with the kids, the one-on-one at my desk. >> it will be hybrid, just two days a week in person. first-year math teacher leon riddick says he's ready to see his students. >> some of them go on there, chat and they're telling me how frustrated they are. i try to get them to calm down saying, hey, it is not going to be long until we come back to the

. >> joining me now is congresswoman karen bass of california.know, congresswoman, ted cruz is the absolute worst, but this argument that he keeps making that somehow working-class people reject the idea of getting $15 an hour, have you met many of these truck drivers and working-class americans who are like, no, no, no, i don't want $15 an hour. pay me less? >> i have never met anybody that said that, and he is speaking those words just like a wealthy elite. i don't think he would know a working-class person if he was sitting next to one. so it is ridiculous. frankly in some states, $15 an hour is not even enough. and california has been in the process of raising the minimum wage for quite a while, and guess what? our economy is doing okay. obviously took a hit from covid, but it is not ruining life, the quality of life in california to raise the minimum wage. >> you know, steny hoyer, your majority leader in the house of representatives, democratic majority leader in the house, has said that, you know, he says the $15 minimum wage should happen

again, congresswoman karen bass led the effort in the house and negotiated a very good bill. let's hope the senators understand that this has to be done and it should be done quickly. >> let's hope so. i thank you for this conversation. always quicker than i would like it to be because i can talk to you for hours, congressman, bar barbara lee, my fellow california girl. thank you very much for your time on this really important saturday. >> thank you very much. >>> and it's important enough to have president biden, who will be making a statement about all that we've been witnessing this morning and specifically in this last hour, the passage of the american rescue plan. this $1.9 trillion covid relief bill. the president will take to the podium and when he does, we will take you there as well on "weekends with alex witt." (vo) ideas exist inside you, electrify you. they grow from our imagination, but they can't be held back. they want to be set free. to make the world more responsible, and even more incredible. ideas start the future, just like that. [ sigh ] not gonna happen

i salute congresswoman karen bass who has been relentless, bercies tept, and absolutely courageous in her leadership on this legislation. thank you to the congressional blackhawks -- black caucus and chair, and judiciary chair, gerry 2345d letter, thank you. the george floyd justice in policing act, fundamentally transforms policing with strong unprecedented preform. this legislation will not erase centuries of systemic racism and excessive policing in america. it will not bring back george floyd, breonna taylor, say her name, breonna taylor, or the countless other men and women who died or were senselessly injured. but it will make a tremendous, take a tremendous step toward stop the violence, stem the suffering, and start to build a healthier, better relationship between law enforcement and communities that they respect. all of us here salute and are proudly -- profoundly grateful to our law enforcement here. i grew up in a family, public service family, my father my whole life at home was near baltimore. my brother was later, thomas, in baltimore. and they had a motto about the pol

the changes to come at all levels as president joe biden has mentioned congresswoman karen bass has a tremendous bill in congress that is passed out of congress and moved over to the senate the george forward justice and policing act but also the d.o.j. needs to get involved we need to start talking consent decrees they were not a popular to the trumpet minister and they need to be a popular tool of the biden administration and then locally we have to hire we have to elect we have to support we have to defend progressive prosecutors we also have to elect progressive up and down the ballot we need folks we're going to fight for justice with a history of fighting for justice and we need to be bold and the leadership we choose to represent us black lives matter movement is one of the most powerful engines in organizing our country and our planet has ever seen more folks took to the streets last year than at any point in american history and it pains me that folks. try to detract to try to splinter off that movement except when we see another murder on our t.v. screens right except when w

in time the changes that come at all levels as president joe biden has mentioned congresswoman karen bass has a tremendous bill in congress that has passed out of congress and moved over to the senate the george forward justice and policing act but also the d.o.j. need to get involved we need to start talking consent decrees they were not a popular tool the trumpet minister and they need to be a popular tool of the biden administration and then locally we have to hire we have to elect we have to support we have to defend progressive prosecutors we also have to elect progressive up and down the ballot we need folks we're going to fight for justice with a history of fighting for justice and we need to be bold and the leadership we choose to represent us we're seeing the new president. put people of color in appropriate places not just in the justice system but across his cabinets and in the various ministries such a move in the right direction. representation is always and always a move in the right direction but it's not enough representation doesn't mean you're represented we have had bla

joining me now the lead author of that bill, congresswoman karen bass of california.nday show." you wrote an op-ed in "usa today" where you wrote, the house passed the police reform bill two years to the day of rodney king's brutal beating. and when the police officers in the case were acquitted, i felt hopeless and defeated. that's how we will continue to feel until we act. >> absolutely. i mean, after rodney king, i thought for sure the world would see what black communities, brown communities had been talking about for generations. and when that verdict came down absolutely it was like, well, that wasn't enough? and since then, i mean, we have seen hundreds of videos of people either being brutalized or killed. and so i think that george floyd's murder was so egregious the hundreds of thousands of people out in every state in the country certainly provided the momentum for us to pass the bill last year. >> and so the provisions in the bill i talked about in the intro, federal ban of chokeholds. we get that. prohibiting no-knock warrants. that's what killed breonna

now we know representative karen bass in the house, a democrat, has been talking with both senator coryer, a democrat, but also senator tim scott, a republican, trying to build consensus around this bill to see what they can get done in the senate. again, this faces that 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster. here's what's in this bill. it's banning chokeholds at the federal level. it creates a national registry of police misconduct. it bans racial and religious profiling. it overhauls qualified immunity and bans no-knock warrants in federal drug cases. there's so much more to this bill but just to give you the broad strokes, you can see what it's trying to achieve there. now we look to the senate. we look to see if there is go bipartisan leeway. we know those talks are ongoing. >> cory booker and tim scott seem to be indicating that there is a place to meet in the middle here. even on something like qualified immunity. so maybe they'll work together. thanks, jess. >>> this morning, fulton county prosecutors are expected to appear before a grand jury in the next step into former presi

so the george floyd justice in policing act that my colleague karen bass of congressional black caucus chairman, jerry nadler and we worked with many members of the judiciary committee and the black caucus in a concerted purposeful manner to be able tost we can't tolerate one more killing or any killing such as breonna taylor. what the bill does for example is bans choke holds of any kind. as i listened to the video, the very fact that there was something put on this human being, and they were told -- another human being who has the responsibility of protecting and serving sat on the board and literally washed the breath come out as they did with george floyd when they sat on his neck. we're going to stop that in many ways. banning the choke hold. we're going to record the misdeeds of police officers so that it's in a national registry and that bad acting police cannot go from department to department. we're going to make sure that there is a consent decree and patterns and practice so that police departments who consistently have bad actors and do nothing about it can be put under a c

congresswoman karen bass says claims about defunding police are bogus. >> several of them i do not makehe lies around defunding the police. this bill does not defund the police. the challenges with the bill are around qualified immunity. >> she says the reforms banning choke holds. banning racial and religious profiling are necessary speaking to republican senator tim scott where the two sides might be able to come together. remember scott proposed his own police reform legislation last session but the democrats filibuster it. >> harris: jackie, thank you very much for following that for us. friends, they are not. the deepening feud between new york's governor and new york city's mayor. the governor says he won't resign in the face of to scandals pretty much saying it's because bill deblasio has made a huge mess. don't forget "outnumbered" is next at the top of the hour. don't miss it. is that karl rove? yep. >>> you also have new york city which is in a very precarious situation. it's teetering, to use a word, crime is way up. homelessness is way up. many people have left. we have to g

congresswoman karen bass is leading an effort to pass a bill designed to support both police departments provide grants to communities to reenvision policing. abc7 news has made fighting for racial and social justice part of our major effort to build a better bay area. if you're looking for ways to take action on these important issues, go to abc7news.com/take action to find your ally and a list of local resources. >>> you've seen solar-powered homes, businesses. why not cars? you're looking at one. and if you want, you could be driving one by the end of the year. >>> plus, back to school anxiety is something many kids might be going through in the next few months. tonight you'll meet some south bay >>> developments in clean technology continue to threaten traditional gas powered vehicles and turn them into dinosaurs, really. while solar powered vehicles have been a dream for over half a century, this could be the year we see a mass produced one coming off a california assembly line. abc7 news reporter david louie shows you a vehicle of the future that also sports a futuristic look. >> r

. >> we had karen bass on the show yesterday and she said she thinks the biggest issue when it comesnority community is access. the ability to take a day off, go to the hospital, wait in line, et cetera you as opposed to willingness, it's probably a combination of both. i want to ask you, sanjay, new guidance allows for indoor visitation at nursing homes, regardless if the visitor or resident has been vags ccivacci. explain the reasoning here if you could. i don't really fully understand it. if seniors are supposed to be one of our most vulnerable groups at risk, especially people in nursing homes. >> i could see the confusion, especially given when we were talking about the idea that we are still seeing people that are not vaccinated, they shouldn't be getting on planes and visitations can occur in the most vulnerable areas in our community. first of all, there is dissonance here and people are going to have to explain, why no travel, why yes to nursing homes? long-term care facilities, 70%, roughly, have been vaccinated. they are approaching that herd immunity already, which is an

happy to see that this bill has gone one step further, the bill was introduced by congresswoman karen bassne vote, though. no republican votes for it. we'll see if that changes in the senate. >>> another story we're following this morning, we're now learning that tiger woods said he has no recollection of driving in the moments right before his car crashed last month. injuring him. woods told police he had no idea how the crash happened. this according to new documents. a search warrant was executed by the l.a. county sheriff's office for the cars so-called black box. officials hope data from the box will help determine what caused the crash. the crash remains under investigation. but we should note that drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a factor. woods is now recovering after suffering several fractures to his right leg. >>> well what will like be like when just about any adult could get vaccinated? one arizona county is already there, showing us that glimpse into what we hope to be our future. we'll take you there next. >>> and a quick programming note. be sure so watch the cnn or

congressman karen bass is doing a great job in making sure that we address the overall issue while wejustice in this particular case for george floyd. >> yeah. yeah. i hear you on all of that. so many serious things, sir. and, yet, we try to juggle more than one at a time. can i ask you one music question before i let you go? >> certainly. >> you have been public aassociated and proudly so with biggie smalls. have you seen the new netflix documentary yet? >> i have seen it. it is amazing. i think that it provided a level of insight into his growth and development into the artist that he became that i wasn't even familiar with, and i grew up in the neighborhood and came of age at that same period of time. but the information about the jazz influence on christopher wallace and certainly the regea influence in terms of the trips that he took back to jamaica, that was all incredible information and explained a lot in terms of the brilliant artists that christopher wallace became. >> i was curious what you thought because it goes deeper into that young part of his life. one of the many sto

congresswoman karen bass remembers her reaction many of us who have been trying to convince the public that these kind of incidents pis. >>or happening. >>we're almost relieved. it was like finally finally it was on camera and the world was going to be able to see and we would finally be able to hold police officers accountable king suffered a fractured skull and other injuries from the beating. >>i thought they will kill me that's what i after time you know like that and government not guy. >>and turns out that this is excessive in nature and we will take care. i'm very stern action to do with it. >>then police chief daryl gates called the actions of his officers an aberration. still 4 of them were charged with assault and using excessive force and they were put on trial in simi valley. more than a year later the jury returned its verdict. we the jury in the above entitled action. >>find the defendant stacey c can. >>not guilty of all 4 officers were acquitted. pr consultant kerman maddox lived in south l a at the time i just couldn't 7 in my mind what they didn't see they saw the sam

they include san francisco mayor london breed congresswoman barbara lee and karen bass and californiasecretary of state surely weaver weber, rather they argue a recall election would be expensive and a distraction as californians continue to deal with the effects of the pandemic. >> voters are dissatisfied with the governor's tenure. well, there's an election next june. the recalltwould potentially be in november. we're clear that this is a republican plot right out of trump's playbook. if you can't win the legitimate way. then you win the illegitimate way. >> as it will encourage by voters across california to support the governor. if the recall effort leads to a vote this year. wednesday is the deadline for organizers of the recall effort to submit all of their signatures counties and have until april 29th to very verify. those signatures organizers of the recall say they have collected more than 2 million signatures just under one 0.5 millioy are needed to trigger a recall election which would happen later this year. the date would be set by the secretary of state. a group of democ

california congresswoman karen bass, and congresswoman barbara lee also, obviously, of california. well, people have been talking about this quite a bit since last year. shouldn't exactly wrap ourselves in glory during the amy coney barrett hearings. there was a speculation maybe there was a slippage there. maybe she's not as sharp as she used to be. that's a delicate conversation to have, but here is an out that the democrats might have. her husband, richard bloom, is jockeying for anz ambassadorship. if appointed and he wants to go to some wonderful european capitol, there's a possibility that diane feinstein will go with him and that'll open up the position for a black woman in the senate but it's tricky. it's difficult to say to someone thank you for your service and now here is the door. out. that's what it looks like, push out the old person. you also have the intention of that but it has to be done. newsom committed to this and he's facing -- and he wants to show black people and progressives. it's time for him to show up. >> i'm sorry. joan, your thoughts? >> well, i do thi

karen bass, gwen moore and distinguished chair of the committee. particularly proud to be passing this legislation under the leadership of one of the strongest champions, president joe biden. in the senate he was the guardian of this law. and he was the author of it. as a newish member of congress at the time i was proud to follow his lead and the lead in the house then of leader schumer and now the distinguished majority leader in the senate. this opportunity that we have for legislation whose provenance goes way back into the 90's. at that time i was an appropriator and after we passed the bill that had the violence against women act, it was our responsibility to make sure that it was funded properly. that's been part of the continuing advocacy. in 2013, the legislation was left re-authorized under the presidency of president obama and the vice-presidency of joe biden who was taking the lead for the re-authorization of the legislation. it was a tough time. the bill passed first in the united states senate. bipartisan in the united states senate.

>> so i think karen bass and barbara lee, their names immediately come up and they're names top of mindhallenge because of the narrow margin that the democrats have in the house and they've been very much, like, don't touch any of our members because the margins are so narrow and there's london breed. we've only had a dozen black senators and only two black women. when one of them was elevated to president of the senate, vice president kamala harris, it did leave a void there and there was a long time coming to have a latino senator in california for god's sakes and latinos are the majority and they've never had a senator which issen sane and that's good that that happened, but the governor understands that the next logical step is to then replace that kamala harris presence in the united states senate. i needed to get that question in united states bat it was something i was wondering about and the producer was literally, like, wrap! >> they'll be saying that to me in a minute. we talk about black women being in the senate and black women changed the dynamics and i want to play newly m

karen bass, gwen moore and distinguished chair of the committee. particularly proud to be passing this legislation under the leadership of one of the strongest champions, president joe biden. in the senate he was the guardian of this law. and he was the author of it. as a newish member of congress at the time i was proud to follow his lead and the lead in the house then of leader schumer and now the distinguished majority leader in the senate. this opportunity that we have for legislation whose provenance goes way back into the 90's. at that time i was an appropriator and after we passed the bill that had the violence against women act, it was our responsibility to make sure that it was funded properly. that's been part of the continuing advocacy. in 2013, the legislation was left re-authorized under the presidency of president obama and the vice-presidency of joe biden who was taking the lead for the re-authorization of the legislation. it was a tough time. the bill passed first in the united states senate. bipartisan in the united states senate.

one of the people who appeared before cameras was representative karen bass. >> today we passed the george floyd justice in policing act. 30 years after the world saw the brutal beating of rodney king. i was in los angeles at the time. i remember when that video was released, i thought that was going to be the moment policing was transformed in the united states. finally, the world would see what had been happening in black communities for over a century. there was never a way to document it. the story was always the same. i was afraid, i did not know what was going to happen. that was the reason for the beating or the shooting. after rodney king's brutal beating, nothing changed in the country. years later we have cell phone cameras and now we have seen video after video of people being beaten and killed. that is the reason for the george floyd justice in policing act. hold officers accountable and other measures of the bill support raising the standards in the process of policing in the united states. i know that change is difficult. i believe fundamentally that police officers don't wan

the george floyd justice and policing act, thanks to the house and karen bass and the others who led> congressman mondaire jones, i know you have to go, give us a sense of where you want congress to head next. >> i want congress to deliver real relief for the american people. house democrats passed the american rescue plan last week and that is the bare minimum that government must be doing in the midst of the worst public health crisis in a century. it is bipartisan in the support it has received. just yesterday there was a poll that showed 77% of the american people support this commonsense response to an economic crisis. families are hurting. i got to tell you, if the senate does not move on this, not only will many of the people who are blocking progress in the senate who ran on things like a $15 minimum wage and delivering $2,000 survival checks to the american people not get re-elected, but it will have a ripple effect throughout this economy and we will spiral further into devastation and of course we have to pass the equality act in the senate and we have to pass the george f