text: WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress approved legislation Tuesday intended to curtail a striking rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, sending President Joe Biden a bipartisan denunciation of the spate of brutal attacks that have proliferated during coronavirus pandemic.
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  To many Asian Americans, the pandemic has invigorated deep-seated biases that in some cases date back to the Chinese Exclusion Act of more than a century ago. President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to the virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China, as the "China Virus" or the "Kung Flu." And as cases of the illness began to rise in the U.S., so too did the attacks, with thousands of violent incidents reported in the past year.
  Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said it's painful for many to "open up the newspaper everyday and see that yet another Asian American has been assaulted, attacked and even killed."
  "You start to think, 'Well, will I be next?'" Chu said.
  "We have had hate crimes laws since 1968, it's been expanded over and over again, and this new legislation is more of the same," said Jason Wu, who is co-chair of GAPIMNY-Empowering Queer & Trans Asian Pacific Islanders. "These issues are about bias, but also rooted in inequality, and lack of investment and resources for our communities. Not a shortage of police and jails."
  "This violence, by and large, is happening in Democrat-controlled cities," said Jordan. If "money wasn't taken from police and they were allowed to do their jobs, we would probably be in an entirely different position."
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  "I'm glad Congress is coming together in a bipartisan way," said Rep. Young Kim, a California Republican who is Korean American. "Let's also recognize that we cannot legislate hate out of our people's hearts and minds."
  Speaking earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said passage of the bill sends a "powerful message of solidarity" to those who have suffered discrimination during the pandemic.
  "Discrimination against Asian Americans is, sadly, not a new phenomenon in our nation's history, but the pandemic brought old biases and prejudices back to the foreground," the New York Democrat said. "The Senate can be proud it took the lead."