H.R. 6721: COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act

116th Congress · introduced 2020-05-05 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-05-05 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act

Plain summary

COVID - 19 Hate Crimes Act This bill requires a designated officer or employee of the Department of Justice to facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes. It defines COVID-19 hate crime as a violent crime that is motivated by two things: (1) the actual or perceived characteristic (e.g., race) of any person, and (2) the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19 of any person because of that characteristic. The designated officer or employee must periodically report on the status of each case reviewed.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] · 34 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ted Lieu (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] reported raising $2.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr6721.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr6721 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116