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. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky, Chairman Comer, for yielding.
It is no secret that crime has beleaguered Washington, D.C., for years. Yet, in the midst of rising crime rates in D.C., our Nation's Capital is now on track to become even more dangerous.
The D.C. Council is advancing a severely misguided bill, the Revised Criminal Code Act, to eliminate minimum sentences and reduce maximum penalties for numerous violent criminal offenses.
This legislation isn't just reckless. It is radical. Washington's own Democratic Mayor Bowser vetoed the legislation telling the council: ``This bill does not make us safer.''
Well, for once, I agree with the Mayor because eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for all crimes except first-degree murder, eliminating life sentences, and reducing maximum penalties for violent crimes including burglary, carjacking, and robberies will undoubtedly embolden criminals and threaten the safety of both residents and visitors here in Washington, D.C.
But ultimately, the D.C. Council ignored Mayor Bowser's valid concerns and overrode her veto.
Many have asked why, as a Congressman from northeast Georgia, I am leading the effort to block the D.C. Council's radical rewrite of Washington's criminal code.
It is because I care, and I would expect and hope that everyone here in this Chamber would care, too. Congress has the responsibility and the authority to take this action.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to ``exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such District.''
But we don't just have a constitutional obligation to stop this soft- on-crime bill from becoming law, we also have a moral obligation to protect America's safety and security in our Nation's Capital City.
Just 2 days ago in his State of the Union Address, President Biden said right here in this very Chamber: ``We have an obligation to make sure all our people are safe,'' and adding: ``Public safety depends on public trust.''
For once, I agree with the President because all Americans deserve to visit our Nation's Capital without facing fear or violence, and all Americans should be able to trust public officials to implement policies that protect their safety and well-being.
Yet, under the D.C. Council's radical crime bill, residents, small businesses, constituents, and our own staff here on Capitol Hill will inevitably encounter additional danger and violence.
As the President delivered his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, there was a shooting blocks away in the Navy Yard and a stabbing over in Georgetown.
Earlier this week on Capitol Hill, a Capitol Hill reporter's wheels were stolen right off his car. The same crime happened to one of my Democrat colleagues, Congresswoman Barragan, last month.
Just last week at the Potomac Avenue Metro station, a crazed criminal shot and killed a 64-year-old Metro mechanic, Robert Cunningham, who heroically attempted to stop the violent criminal from shooting a woman nearby.
Clearly, crime after crime is on the rise here in D.C., yet the D.C. Council's bill will only make matters worse.
Combating crime is not a conservative or a liberal objective. It is not Republican or Democrat. It is simply a commonsense one. In fact, it has been my honor to work with a local Democrat, Denise Krepp, who formerly served as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner here in D.C. For years Ms. Krepp pleaded with Democrats to be tough on crime for the sake of the residents she served, yet she was routinely ignored.
In a letter sent to this very body in December--which I shall include in the Record--she urged Congress to introduce a resolution of disapproval to block the D.C. Council's Revised Criminal Code Act. It is an effort I am honored to lead and an effort that I am proud the House will pass today.
Because we must send a clear message to the Senate, to the White House, and to the American people that the people's House rejects soft- on-crime policies that jeopardize Americans' safety and security, I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yea'' on my commonsense resolution, H.J. Res. 26.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the December 12, 2022, letter from Ms. Krepp. December 12, 2022. Re. B24-0416--Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022. Rep. Pelosi, Washington, DC. Rep. McCarthy, Washington, DC. Senator Schumer, Washington, DC. Senator McConnell, Washington, DC.
Representative Pelosi, Representative McCarthy, Senator Schumer, and Senator McConnell: My name is K. Denise Rucker Krepp and I'm an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Washington, D.C. I'm writing to you today to ask that you enact into law a joint resolution disapproving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 (RCCA). The bill hurts victims of violent crime.
Currently, convicted rapists must serve their full prison sentence. The RCCA creates a new right to petition for early release from prison. The D.C. Councilmembers who drafted this provision call it proportionate, balancing the interests of victims and those who commit the crimes.
Rape is an irreversible crime. Victims don't get to rewind the clock and as a locally elected D.C. official I respectfully ask that you disapprove the bill, stopping it from becoming law.
Additionally, I respectfully ask that you conduct oversight over prosecutions of violent crimes occurring in Washington, D.C. At a March 2022 meeting, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia told me that he didn't know what crimes his office prosecutes each year and that it is unreasonable for me to expect him to know this information.
I've been a locally unpaid, no staff elected official in Washington, D.C. for eight years. Over this period of time, I've tracked the murders, armed carjackings, assaults, robberies, stabbings, shootings, and rape that have occurred in my single member district. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has staff and resources, and it's reasonable for him to know what crimes his office prosecutes. Please ask him to do so and to share this information with you and DC residents.
Thank you. K. Denise Rucker Krepp, ANC6B10 Commissioner.
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