“Exactly one month ago, George Floyd spoke his final words, 'I can't breathe' and changed the course of history,” Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi said on the steps outside the nation’s capitol. 

Today the House will pass the Democrat’s Justice in Policing Act, a bill designed to bring sweeping change to police departments across the nation.

Introduced on June 8, the Act will address the systemic racism and police brutality that have led to the murder of far too many Black individuals in America.

However it has slim chances of becoming law, as efforts to find common ground in police reform have left a largely divided Congress. 

The vote comes a day after Democrats blocked the Republican Justice Act proposal in the Senate from advancing to debate.

The Democratic proposal, in contrast to the Justice Act proposal includes much stricter measures on police reform.

Among additional provisions, the Justice in Policing Act holds all law enforcement officials accountable for their actions, ends qualified immunity for police officers, ends racial and religious profiling, establishes uniform use of force policies, mandates data collection on police encounters, bans chokeholds and “no knock” warrants, limits military equipment given to local police departments, requires body cameras and classifies lynching as a hate crime, opening it to federal resources for investigations and prosecutions. 

“The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a stark contrast to President Trump’s weak Executive Order and Senate Republicans’ toothless proposal, which both fall short of what is required to overcome the crises of racial injustice and police brutality,” said Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a statement.

“We need meaningful and enforceable national accountability standards to end police misconduct,” Castro continued.

The George Floyd bill passed the House Judiciary Committee last week.The House is expected to vote on the measure Thursday night, with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn)  expected to preside over the debate in the as speaker pro tempore. 

Omar’s jurisdiction covers Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed.

In her speech, Pelosi added, “When we pass this bill, the Senate will have a choice: To honor George Floyd's life or to do nothing.”