Congress lets hate bill die
by WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Efforts to strengthen federal hate crimes legislation came to an abrupt halt this week, when Congress abando, The bill sought to give federal prosecutors new authority to prosecute hate crimes against women, the disabled, and gay and lesb
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A spate of high-profile hate crimes, some targeted at Jews, had generated new momentum for the legislation, known as the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which Jewish groups had been urging Congress to enact since 1997.
But it was not enough to overcome Republican opposition in Congress.
The measure was passed in the Senate in July as part of its appropriations bill funding the Commerce, Justice and State departments. But it was not included in the House version of the bill.
On Monday, House and Senate negotiators, meeting to iron out differences in the two bills, approved a final spending bill without the hate crimes provisions.
Reva Price, Washington representative of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said Jewish activists who had pushed for the legislation are disappointed that Congress "didn't want to take this opportunity to put their money where their mouth is."
For more JTA stories, go to http://www.jta.org
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