*In honor of George Floyd’s 50th birthday, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass a “meaningful” police reform bill.

“George Floyd should be alive,” Biden said in a statement Saturday on the White House website. “He should be celebrating his 50th birthday with his young daughter Gianna, family, and friends. He deserved so much more.”

Floyd died at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest on May 25, 2020. Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes while Floyd repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.

“Today, we join his family to honor his life and legacy. And we remember the tragedy and injustice of his death that sparked one of the largest civil rights movements in our nation’s history and inspired the world,” Biden wrote in a press release.

Floyd’s death sparked global protests and Biden noted that he signed an executive order in 2022, creating a national registry of officers fired for misconduct.  He urged Congress to pass similar legislation that would impact local police departments.

“George Floyd’s murder exposed for many what Black and Brown communities have long known and experienced — that our nation has never fully lived up to its highest ideal of fair and impartial justice for all under the law,” Biden said in his statement.

“We know that implementing real and lasting change at the state and local levels requires Congress to act,” he said. “I will continue to do everything in my power to fight for police accountability and urge Congress to Pass Meaningful Police reform and send it to my desk. I will sign it.”

As previously reported, Chauvin and the three former officers — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane — were all convicted on both state and federal charges for their roles in Floyd’s death.

READ MORE: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Issues Statement on 3rd Anniversary of Death of George Floyd

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