Comer Announces Full Committee Markup of Legislation to Ensure a Safe and Prosperous District of Columbia

WASHINGTON- Today, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced a markup will take place on Wednesday, September 10 at 10:00 am ET to consider a series of legislation to combat crime in D.C.

"President Trump and House Republicans are committed to restoring law and order in our nation's capital city. Under President Trump's decisive leadership, crime in D.C. is now falling at an unprecedented rate. The House Oversight Committee stands ready to back the President's swift action by advancing comprehensive legislative reforms that empower District law enforcement and tackle the escalating juvenile crime crisis head-on. Every resident and visitor deserve to feel safe in our capital, and together with President Trump, the Committee will fulfill its constitutional duty to oversee District affairs and make D.C. safe again," said House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

WHAT: Full Committee Markup

H.R. ____, The District of Columbia Home Rule Improvement Act: The bill establishes a uniform 60-day congressional review period for all D.C. Council legislation, eliminates the ability of the D.C. Council to extend emergency laws in perpetuity, provides for a line item veto of D.C. Acts in Congressional resolutions of disapproval, prohibits the D.C. Council from withdrawing legislation from the congressional review process, prohibits the D.C. Council from passing substantially similar laws to legislation that was successfully disapproved by Congress, and provides for a similar Congressional review process of D.C. regulations and Mayoral executive actions. This bill also provides clear and concise expedited consideration procedures for resolutions of disapproval in both the House and Senate to avoid the window of congressional review closing before both chambers may act on the resolution.

H.R. 2693, District of Columbia Electronic Transmittal of Legislation Act: The bill amends the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to permit the Chairman of the D.C. Council to electronically transmit to Congress any act passed by the D.C. Council.

H.R. 5103, Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act: The bill codifies core components of President Donald Trump's March 27th, 2025, Executive Order on Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful (EO 14252). Specifically, the bill requires the development and implementation of a program under the Secretary of the Interior to beautify the District through the removal of graffiti, enhanced private-sector collaboration, and restoration of Federal public monuments. Further, the bill establishes the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Commission to coordinate across federal agencies and D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, and to develop joint priorities to enable the full enforcement of Federal and local laws within the District.

H.R. ____, District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act: The bill amends D.C.'s pre-trial release and detention processes in D.C. Code to require mandatory pre-trial detention for defendants charged with crimes of violence and for cash bail or bail bonds for all defendants charged with public safety and order crimes. Specific application to certain aggravated offenses includes obstruction of justice, fleeing law enforcement, rioting, destruction of property, stalking, and aggravated assault. Applies to all charges brought 30-days after the date of enactment.

H.R. ____, Strong Sentences for Safer D.C. Streets Act: The bill changes the mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines in D.C. Code commensurate to other nationwide standards for criminal sentencing, including for first- and second-degree murder, rape, first-degree sexual abuse, kidnaping, carjacking, and first-degree burglary. These reforms apply to criminal charges after the date of enactment.

H.R. ____, A bill to repeal D.C.'s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act of 2016 and the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022: The bill would repeal the Incarceration Reduction Act of 2016 (title III of the Comprehensive Youth Justice Amendment Act of 2016, D.C. Law 21-36), passed by the D.C. Council in 2016. The Incarceration Reduction Act allows individuals convicted of certain serious crimes committed before their 18th birthday to petition the court for a sentence reduction after serving at least 15 years. In repealing the Incarceration Reduction Act of 2016, the D.C. Code will reflect the codified language predating the passage of the Act and all subsequent amendments. This bill also repeals the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-284) which expanded D.C.'s expungement and sealing process to allow more individuals to petition the District for expungement or sealing of prior conviction records as well as the automatic expungement or sealing for certain misdemeanors, including marijuana possession.

H.R. ____, Clean and Managed Public Spaces Act: The bill imposes a fine of not more than $500, or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both, as a penalty for camping outdoors on public property in the District of Columbia after the date of enactment.

H.R. 4922, DC Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (DC CRIMES) Act: The bill asserts Congressional control over the District by prohibiting the D.C. Council from pursuing progressive soft-on-crime sentencing policy. Specifically, the bill would (1) lower D.C.'s definition of a "youth" from under 25 years old to under 18, resulting in individuals 18 and older being properly treated and tried as adults in the criminal justice system, (2) remove the ability of judges to sentence youth offenders below the mandatory minimum, (3) require the D.C. Attorney General to establish a public website containing statistics on juvenile crime, and (4) prohibit D.C. from enacting any changes to the existing minimum sentencing laws and sentencing guidelines, leaving only Congress the authority to amend such laws.

H.R. ____, District of Columbia Juvenile Sentencing Reform Act: The bill would lower the age of eligibility for juveniles to be tried as adults in D.C. for certain violent offenses committed after the date of enactment from 16 years to 14 years of age.

H.R. ____, SOAR Act Improvements Act: The bill amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act and reauthorizes the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP) through 2032 at $60,000,000 in annual authorized appropriations (consistent with the current authorized level in law). DC OSP provides low-income children in Washington, D.C. with scholarships so they can attend a private school in the District. Since its inception, the DC OSP has consistently been oversubscribed. This bill amends how funds are allocated: currently, one-third of the annually authorized appropriations are allocated to DC OSP, one-third is allocated to D.C. Public Schools, and one-third is allocated to D.C. charter schools. This bill changes the authorized funding allocation so that one-half of the money would be allocated to DC OSP and only one-sixth would be allocated to DC Public Schools out of the total authorized amount. The funding to DC charter schools would remain consistent at one-third. Additionally, the bill provides additional transparency over the program by requiring the Secretary of Education, Mayor of D.C., and Institute of Education Sciences to regularly evaluate DC OSP and disseminate information on the academic progress and educational attainment of participating students and report on the safety of the private schools attended by participating students compared with DC public schools.

H.R. 5107, Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in D.C. (CLEAN DC) Act: The bill repeals the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345) which established restrictions and undue additional requirements on the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. These policies include prohibiting officers from viewing body-cam footage when writing initial reports of an incident, removing all officers and police union representatives from the Police Complaints Board, stripping the D.C. police union of the right to collectively bargain over disciplinary matters, requiring a jury to consider if an officer consulted with mental health, behavioral health, or social workers before the use of deadly force, and imposing approval hurdles for the use of riot gear and less-lethal projectiles.

H.R. ____, District of Columbia Policing Protection Act: The bill would amend the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345), to allow vehicular pursuit of a suspect fleeing in a motor vehicle, if the officer or supervisor deems it necessary, the most effective means of apprehension, and without unreasonable risk to innocents and bystanders. This bill would further amend the 2022 Act to develop a trial system that would alert members of the public to police pursuits in their immediate vicinity. The amendments made by this bill would also require evaluation reports of current D.C. police tactics to be submitted to the appropriate Oversight and Judiciary Committees in the House and Senate.

H.R. ____, District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act: The bill repeals the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission, making nominations for D.C. Courts after the Date of Enactment an action of the U.S. President, which is in line with the U.S. Constitution and other federal judicial nomination processes.

H.R. ____, District of Columbia Attorney General Appointment Reform Act: The bill would reform the way the District of Columbia's Attorney General is selected. The current D.C. AG's appointment shall terminate on the date of enactment.

DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 2025

TIME: 10:00 AM ET

LOCATION: HVC-210

The markup will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at https://oversight.house.gov/.