DC Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 707, I call up the bill (H.R. 4922) to limit youth offender status in the District of Columbia to individuals 18 years of age or younger, to direct the Attorney General of the District of Columbia to establish and operate a publicly accessible website containing updated statistics on juvenile crime in the District of Columbia, to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to prohibit the Council of the District of Columbia from enacting changes to existing criminal liability sentences, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 4922, a bill providing commonsense reforms to the District of Columbia criminal code.

It is clear to Members of the committee and the public that D.C.'s soft-on-crime policies have failed to keep D.C. residents and visitors safe.

The DC CRIMES Act overturns targeted portions of the D.C. Council's Youth Rehabilitation Act by amending the definition of a ``youth offender'' from a person under the age of 25 to under the age of 18.

Let me emphasize Washington, D.C.'s current law. Currently, D.C. code allows a criminal under the age of 25 to be given the same leniency that is afforded to minors. This bill requires that we treat adult criminals as adults, like the rest of the country. It also removes judicial discretion to sentence youth offenders under the minimum sentencing structures in place.

Our Capital cannot continue to let criminals freely roam the streets and expect this crime crisis to end.

As juvenile crime soars in the District, the bill also requires the D.C. Attorney General to create a publicly available website that better tracks juvenile crime data. This data will inform Congress, the District's elected officials, the Metropolitan Police Department, the public, and others of the severity of juvenile crimes in the city.

Citizens of D.C. and visitors to our Nation's Capital deserve to feel safe.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds) for leading this effort again in this Congress, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

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Mr. COMER. Boebert).

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Mr. COMER. Hageman).

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Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation to ensure that citizens of Washington, D.C., and the many visitors to our Nation's Capital feel safe.

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