BREAKING: House Passes Two Bills OVERHAULING Criminal Justice in D.C.

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Justice is back in our nation’s capital!

The House of Representatives just passed a couple of bills aimed at overhauling the criminal justice and policing system in Washington, D.C.

The first bill, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik, bans no-cash bail and prevents rogue judges from letting routine offenders out onto the streets.

The second bill repeals certain restrictions on the police, like a ban on choke-holds and a requirement for expanded body cameras.

The New York Post has more specifics on what these two bills include:

The House passed a pair of bills Wednesday repealing cashless bail in DC and much of a law passed by the city’s council in 2022 that limited cops’ use of force — including banning chokeholds — and their ability to collectively negotiate disciplinary actions against them.

The first measure, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), would mandate pretrial and post-conviction detention for dangerous or violent crimes and require mandatory cash bail for offenders who pose a threat to public safety in the nation’s capital — and it passed in a 237-179 vote.

The other piece of legislation doing away with the DC Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 sailed through the House in a 233-190 vote.

Stefanik described her bill as a “precursor” to an effort aimed at scrapping New York’s “failed bail reform.”

“New Yorkers know that Kathy Hochul’s failed bail reform has unleashed a crime wave across our state by emboldening violent criminals and putting law-abiding New Yorkers in harm’s way,” Stefanik told The Post. “Kathy Hochul’s failed bail reform has literally caused murders, assaults, rapes, and heinous crimes to be committed against law-abiding New Yorkers.”

“Today I proudly voted to end cashless bail in DC, which Congress has jurisdiction over, and this is a precursor to next month when Congress will pass my bill to end New York’s failed bail reform,” she added. “Kathy Hochul is incapable of making New York safe, so I will come over the top of her and pass this in Congress.”

Of course, this comes after President Trump ordered a federal takeover of D.C. earlier this year that proved largely successful at making our capital a safe, beautiful place to be once again.

He cleaned up the streets, and now Congress is acting to make sure it stays that way.

However, both of the bills will still need to pass in the Senate.

This will require at least 60 votes, which will prove more difficult.

Roll Call noted:

Both bills now head to the Senate, where seven Democrats would have to vote with all Republicans to overcome a filibuster and send the legislation to President Donald Trump.

“Cashless bail allows dangerous, violent criminals on our streets. For far too long, dangerous criminals have been allowed to roam the streets of Washington, D.C., posing a threat to the general public,” said Oversight Chair James R. Comer, R-Ky., on the floor.

Under Comer’s leadership, the panel has repeatedly taken aim at D.C. in recent years, casting it as a poorly run city rife with crime. In September, the committee favorably reported more than a dozen GOP-sponsored bills that would reshape local law. That same month, Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb were summoned to the Hill for a contentious hearing on the state of the city in the wake of Trump’s surge of National Guard members and federal agents.

Congress has broad constitutional jurisdiction over D.C. and under the 1973 Home Rule Act has the authority to overrule local laws passed by the D.C. Council.

In September, the House passed four pieces of legislation targeting local policies, mostly on party lines. One would lower the standards for D.C. police to engage in car chases. A second bill would eliminate the local commission tasked with nominating D.C. judges, instead giving the power to the president. The others would drop the maximum age for youth offenders from 24 to 18 and allow 14-year-olds to be tried as adults in certain cases.

None of those bills has gotten a vote in the Senate.

What do you think?

Do you support these bills to crack down on the D.C. criminal justice system?



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