Chairman Comer Supports D.C. CRIMES Act to End Juvenile Crime Crisis in Nation’s Capital

WASHINGTON-House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today spoke in support of H.R. 4922, the D.C. Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (D.C. CRIMES) Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) to address the juvenile crime crisis in our nation's capital.

Below are Chairman Comer's prepared remarks.

I support H.R. 4922, a bill providing common sense reforms to the District of Columbia criminal code.

It is clear to Members of the Committee and the public that D.C.'s soft-on-crime policies have failed to keep D.C. residents and visitors safe.

The D.C. CRIMES Act overturns targeted portions of the D.C. Council's Youth Rehabilitation Act by amending the definition of a youth offender from a person under the age of twenty-five to under the age of eighteen.

Let me emphasize D.C.'s current law.

Currently, D.C. Code allows a criminal under the age of twenty-five to be given the same leniency that is afforded to minors.

This bill requires that we treat adult criminals as adults, like the rest of the country.

It also removes judicial discretion to sentence youth offenders under the minimum sentencing structures in place.

Our capital cannot continue to let criminals freely roam the streets and expect this crime crisis to end.

As juvenile crime soars in the District, the bill also requires the D.C. Attorney General to create a publicly available website that better tracks juvenile crime data.

This data will inform Congress, the District's elected officials, the Metropolitan Police Department, the public, and others on the severity of juvenile crime in the city.

Citizens of D.C. and visitors to our Nation's Capital deserve to feel safe.

I thank Representative Donalds for leading this effort again this Congress and I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.