Opposition Letter Led By the American Civil Liberties Union on the Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC Act of 2025 (H.R. and the District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025 (H.R.
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, the House of Representatives debated the Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC Act of 2025 (H.R. 5107) and the District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025 (H.R. 5214). I include in the Record a letter opposing these bills led by the American Civil Liberties Union. November 18, 2025. Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries: On behalf of the ACLU, ACLU DC, National Urban League, and The Bail Project we write to express our opposition to the D.C. Cash Bail Reform Act (H.R. 5214) and the Common Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability in D.C. Now Act (H.R. 5107).
We urge all Members to ``Vote NO'' on H.R. 5214 and H.R. 5107. The ACLU will score these votes. The D.C. Cash Bail Reform Act
H.R. 5214, the DC Cash Bail Reform Act, requires mandatory detention on a wide range of cases and is almost certainly unconstitutional under the requirements set out by the Supreme Court in United States v. Salerno. This bill would reverse more than 30 years of successful, data-driven pretrial policy reforms in D.C. and replace it with a wealth based system that fuels mass incarceration, racial disparities, and benefits the 2 billion dollar bail industry.
D.C.'s pre-trial system is grounded in individual assessment, not based on wealth. The federal Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia evaluates each person's likelihood of appearing in court and assesses individualized conditions of release to support community safety. The results of D.C.'s current risk and safety based pretrial system outperform most cash-bail jurisdictions in the country. Ninety-two percent of people released pretrial in D.C. remain arrest-free before trial, 87% appear for their court dates, and 86% complete the pretrial period without any compliance violation.
H.R. 5214 would replace D.C.'s current risk and safety based system with a cash bail system that requires mandatory detention for a wide range of conduct. Cash bail would disproportionately harm Black D.C. residents. Nearly 90% of the D.C. jail population and 80% of the people released through the Pretrial Services Agency are Black, due to systemic overpolicing. Abolishing D.C.'s pre-trial system which balances risk and safety and on an individualized basis, and replacing it with a cash bail system which favors release for wealthy defendants and imprisons those who cannot afford bail, would deepen existing racial disparities and disproportionately separate Black families from their communities, jobs, and housing.
The District of Columbia has operated a successful risk and safety based system for more than three decades. These policies were informed by input from local stakeholders including courts, prosecutors, police, and community members. Congress should not override the local policy making process of D.C. stakeholders and the will of D.C. residents and democratically elected leaders.
A pre-trial system that relies on regular check-ins, targeted social-service referrals, and text message reminders consistently outperforms cash bail systems at securing appearance and protecting public safety. Maintaining housing, employment, child-care, and medical care substantially reduces recidivism and promotes community safety. D.C.'s current pre-trial system is a calibrated approach to public safety that appropriately weighs public safety risks while also considering the need of individuals to maintain critical supports such as housing and employment on a case by case basis. In contrast, H.R. 5214 would implement a cash bail system that would financially ruin many of D.C.'s lower income families, force many parents, disproportionately women and Black women, out of the workforce, and expose children to the well-documented harms of parental detention, all of which increase long-term risks to public safety and community wellbeing. The D.C. Cash Bail Reform Act will harm D.C. residents and will not make D.C. safer because it ignores the evidence and data on pretrial detention and thirty years of local input and governance.
The Common Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability in D.C. Now Act
H.R. 5107, the Common Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability in D.C. Now Act, would repeal D.C.'s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (CPJRAA), which enacted several recommendations to improve public safety, accountability, and trust. These recommendations came from the D.C. Police Reform Commission, a body of retired law enforcement, community leaders, experts, and directly impacted residents. Among the critical provisions that H.R. 5107 would repeal are reforms to officer discipline processes. These reforms were recommended after several officers in D.C. were reinstated despite major misconduct including sexual assault and domestic violence. D.C. residents, D.C. police chiefs, and the D.C. Auditor all opposed the laws that H.R. 5107 would reimpose, which allowed police to keep their jobs even when they committed a crime or broke the law. As the D.C. Auditor reported, ``MPD management expressed frustration over the reinstatement of `bad cops' and concern that MPD officers are demoralized when their colleagues are reinstated despite breaking the rules. They suggested that officers may be more likely to engage in misconduct when they believe they have a good chance of overturning any resulting discipline.''
H.R. 5107 would also repeal many other common-sense reforms of D.C.'s laws that have been adopted across the country, including:
Timely and thorough investigation of incidents that involve deadly use of force by an officer or a death in custody.
Release of body camera footage in cases of serious bodily injury or death in custody.
Background checks so only highly qualified officers are hired, and those who engage in misconduct cannot simply leave one jurisdiction to be hired in another.
With appropriate safeguards and limits, preservation and dissemination of officer disciplinary records that are subject to open records requests.
Strengthening use of force review boards.
Increased training, as well as clearer guidance on use of force.
Limiting the possession or use of certain military-grade equipment by law enforcement agencies.
H.R, 5107 would repeal a locally approved law that provides transparency and accountability for police misconduct and promotes community safety.
For these reasons, the ACLU, ACLU DC, National Urban League, and The Bail Project strongly urge Members to vote NO on H.R. 5214, the DC Cash Bail Reform Act, and vote NO on H.R. 5107, the Common Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability in D.C. If you have any questions, please contact Nina Patel, Senior Policy Counsel ACLU Justice Division. Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia, The Bail Project, National Urban League.
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