A meeting of the US House of Representatives, February 4, 2020 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The bill condemning anti-Asian bigotry and discrimination is considered necessary as violence targeting Asian people has increased dramatically since the pandemic reached the US.

Rep. Grace Meng, the sponsor of the measure, said it is “really important” to demonstrate to Asian Americans that it's wrong to discriminate them in light of the pandemic.

Republicans said Democrats are “wasting their time with the measure” and should focus on other ways to reduce the impact of the disease. They said the disease should be named for its origin, like the West Nile virus.