The House on Tuesday approved two bills to restrict Washington, D.C.’s authority over criminal sentencing, marking the latest Republican-led effort to assert congressional power over the nation’s capital and back President Donald Trump’s tough-on-crime agenda, The Hill reported.
The first measure, the D.C. Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act, or DC CRIMES Act, passed 240-179. It bars the D.C. Council from altering sentencing laws and curtails judicial discretion for offenders under 25, lowering the threshold for leniency to age 18. The bill also ends provisions that allowed youth offenders to receive sentences below mandatory minimums and mandates that the attorney general publish online data on juvenile crime.
“The Trump administration’s efforts have shown that lawlessness is a choice,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., lead sponsor of the DC CRIMES Act, said during debate. “It is time for Congress to step up, adhere to our constitutional duty, and firmly address crime in the nation’s capital.”
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