Disapproving the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022
Floor Speech
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Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the joint resolution that would help protect the citizens of Washington, D.C., and prevent violent criminals from being let free to terrorize folks and reoffend.
Even Mayor Bowser, by no means a conservative or moderate, was adamantly opposed to the Revised Criminal Code Act. She vetoed it. It is no wonder why she vetoed this measure. So far, year to date, according to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, D.C., has seen a 90 percent increase in auto theft, a 143 percent increase in sex abuse, and a 29 percent increase in homicides. On the whole, year to date, property crime is up 31 percent and overall crime is up 23 percent.
That doesn't sound like a recipe for doing away with mandatory minimums, lowering maximum sentences, and increasing rehearings for violent criminals.
In New York State, we have seen the impacts of these soft-on-crime policies. In New York City, total crimes were up 22 percent in 2022 from 2021 and over 47 percent from 2020, the year that cashless bail took effect.
It is alarming; it is startling; and it is a preview of what is to come in Washington, D.C., if we do not stop this radical measure that was passed from going into effect.
Cashless bail in New York was the single stupidest policy that has ever been enacted anywhere. Forty percent of those who have been released on nonmonetary bail for felony offenses have been rearrested. Judges do not have judicial discretion.
New York State is the only State in the country that does not have a dangerousness standard. There is nonenforcement of petty crimes in New York City. There has been elimination of the anticrime unit, which is primarily responsible for getting illegal guns off the streets. They have raised the age where 16- and 17-year-olds are tried in family court rather than criminal court, yet using guns in the commission of a crime, they are being released. Is it any wonder why gangs would use them?
Unrepentant cop killers, child rapists, and murderers are being released by an out-of-control parole board. There is a radical defund the police movement. This has happened in New York City, and it will happen in Washington, D.C., if this law is allowed to go into effect.
The greatest responsibility of any government is to ensure the safety and security of its citizenry. Cities like New York and now Washington, D.C., and Chicago are failing in their responsibility.
We are putting our citizens and law enforcement at risk. It needs to stop. This law should not be allowed to go into effect, and Congress has an obligation--an obligation--to act.
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