US President Joe Biden on Thursday signed legislation to curtail a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Biden expressed pride that lawmakers who seem to agree on little else came together against hate and racism.
The House approved the bill 364-62 this week, following the Senate's 94-1 vote in April.
The new law will expedite Justice Department reviews of hate crimes by putting an official in charge of the effort. Federal grants will be available to help local law enforcement agencies improve their investigation, identification and reporting of bias-driven incidents, which often go underreported.
US has seen a rise in stabbings, shootings and other attacks against Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals and their businesses since the start of the pandemic a little over a year ago.
Vice President Kamala Harris said such incidents had increased six-fold during that time.