Biden signs anti-Asian hate crime bill into law

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris delivered remarks Thursday ahead of Biden signing into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that passed through Congress in an increasingly rare show of bipartisanship. Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and person of Asian descent to hold the office, opened the signing ceremony by thanking lawmakers for their work on the anti-Asian hate crime legislation. Several Democrats were present to witness it, including Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., who introduced the bill. "To the members of our United States Congress on both sides of the aisle who helped pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, thank you," she said to applause. "Because of you, history will remember this day and this moment when our nation took action to combat hate." Biden said he hopes the signing ceremony, which comes during Asian American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI, Heritage Month, sends this message to the Asian American community: "We see you."