Dec 16, 2021: The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to approve a Democratic proposal for the State Department to tackle anti-Muslim bias, when a Republican congresswoman used Islamophobic insults against a Democratic colleague.
The House supported the bill in a 219-212 party line vote. The bill, authored by Representative Elhan Omar, will create a special envoy to monitor and combat Islamophobia and include state-sponsored anti-Muslim violence in the department’s annual human rights reports.
“We are in the midst of a staggering rise of anti-Muslim violence and discrimination around the world,” Omar said on the House floor. “Islamophobia is global in scope and we must lead the global effort to address it.”
A few weeks earlier, first term republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert called Somalian origin Omer, who is second term democratic congresswoman, a member of the jihad squad.
The remarks prompted Democrats to call for a vote to remove Boebert from her committee’s assignments, as well as criticism from fellow Republican Nancy Mace.
Republicans have condemned the bill, calling it hasty and biased. The debate on the bill stalled for about an hour after Republican Congressman Scott Perry accused Omar of being involved in anti-Semitic and terrorist organizations. The House Chair ruled that Perry’s words on the floor of the House tarnished Omar’s reputation and were inappropriate. Aides to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer did not respond to requests for comment.
The bill’s fate in this chamber is not clear.
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