Andrew Clyde: “I thank the gentleman from Kentucky, Chairman Comer, for yielding. It is no secret that crime has beleaguered…”

“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.…”