Scott Fitzgerald: “To close. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle mentioned that many of these bail funds operate…”

“To close. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle mentioned that many of these bail funds operate locally and, therefore, do not affect interstate commerce. I think it is important to describe the current landscape of the charitable bail funds, and we are not trying to eliminate them. According to the National Bail Fund Network, there are over 90 charitable bail funds operating across the country. Perhaps the largest fund by revenue, The Bail Project, operates in at least 19 States. That is according to a 2023 annual report. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, The Bail Project saw revenues triple after the George Floyd riots to a whopping $42 million in 2020. That is $42 million. There is zero oversight. Thanks to solicitations from Vice President Harris and thanks to those generous donations, The Bail Project ended calendar year 2023 with an astonishing $71 million. I think an important part that has flown under the radar is that these donations are also tax deductible. That is right. A lot of Americans are surprised by that. The bail for a violent felony offender could be paid and written off on a tax return, the same as if it were a donation to any charitable cause. That is an incredibly important point in the context of regulating the payment of cash bail. The donors to these funds have no skin in the game, which makes it incredibly difficult to secure a defendant's appearance in court.…”