Supporters will rally

Bass: Supporters will rally to Biden despite '94 crime bill

“I know that criminal justice reform is going to be a major part of his administration,” Bass said of Biden.

By JUAN PEREZ JR.

Rep. Karen Bass says she has no problem whipping up support for Joe Biden’s presidential bid in her Los Angeles congressional district, despite his instrumental role in developing a controversial 1994 crime bill that Bass herself opposed.

“I was very involved in the crime bill from the opposite perspective many, many years ago and I understand very well why elected officials did what they did, because the masses of the people in these communities were demanding it,” the California congresswoman and sleeper pick to serve as Biden’s vice president said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union."

“I thought there was another way to go. I think people understand that now, and I'm confident in the direction that Joe Biden would pursue,” Bass said.

President Donald Trump’s campaign has aired TV advertisements in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., that attack the presumptive Democratic nominee over his past support of the 1994 crime bill, which contributed to increased incarceration — particularly among people of color — and included federal restrictions on incarcerated students receiving Pell Grants. Sen. Elizabeth Warren even called for the bill’s repeal as part of her presidential campaign.

Still, Bass praised criminal justice reform recommendations put forward by Biden’s “unity task force” with former campaign rival and Sen. Bernie Sanders, which included calls to establish national standards governing law enforcement’s use of force.

“I know that criminal justice reform is going to be a major part of his administration,” Bass said.

Bass also said she plans to introduce legislation this week that will focus on women in the criminal justice system.