I'm Brian Lerer. This is my daily politics podcast from WNYC Studios. It's Monday, March 22nd.

This Thursday, President Biden will hold his first news conference since taking office.

He will no doubt be touting the COVID relief bill and his version of progressive economics.

He will likely get questions about the situation at the southern border,

about anti-Asian hate crimes after the murderous rampage that took eight lives,

including those of six Asian- American women in Atlanta last week

and other hate crimes that came before. Maybe Biden will be asked about low Asian American

representation in his cabinet or about the filibuster and more. We'll be doing a one-hour special

on his first news conference Thursday night at 8, so make a note of that.

With us now, Democratic Queen's Congresswoman Grace Meng. She's on the Powerful House Appropriations

Committee, which passes funding for every federal agency and program. She's also on the House

Ethics Committee, and she is first vice chair of the Congressional Asian and

Pacific American Caucus, and is just reintroduced in the House, along with Maisie Hirono in the

Senate, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. Congresswoman Meng represents New York's sixth congressional

district, which includes flushing, forest hills, fresh meadows, also some

neighborhoods that don't begin with F, and other parts of North, Central, and Eastern Queens.

Congresswoman Meng, always great to have you on. Welcome back to WNYC.

Thanks for having me, Brian, and I never thought about the neighborhood's beginning letters.

I like that.

Could you explain to the listeners what's new in your COVID-19 hate crimes bill? There are some

federal hate crimes laws already on the books, right? Yes, of course. And first, thank you

for covering this topic. And again again we continue to send condolences

...