Eric Garner Excessive Force Prevention Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Eric Garner Excessive Force Prevention Act
This bill modifies the criminal civil rights statute that prohibits deprivation of rights under color of law.
Current law prohibits the deprivation of federally protected rights, privileges, or immunities by a government official (including a law enforcement officer). It also prohibits the application of different punishments, pains, or penalties based on an individual's alien status, color, or race.
This bill specifies that the application of any pressure to the throat or windpipe, the use of maneuvers that restrict blood or oxygen flow to the brain, or the use of carotid artery restraints which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air is a deprivation of a right, privilege, or immunity and is a punishment, pain, or penalty.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 4, 2021. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 4, 2021: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced it on February 4, 2021. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 4, 2021, 2044 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2044 days ago, on February 4, 2021.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers