(JustPatriots.com)- Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde said a recent vote was “a significant first step for Congress in our battle to prevent the capital of our country from being even more ravaged by violent crime.”
The D.C. Council enacted the Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA) in November 2022. The RCCA lessens punishments for a number of serious crimes, including murder, robbery, and carjackings. On January 4, the law was vetoed by Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C.
By a vote of 12 to 1, the council overrode Bowser’s veto on January 17.
The Washington, D.C. Council’s proposed Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, which would reduce punishments for various severe crimes, was rejected by the U.S. House on Thursday.
The District Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17) grants Congress the power to intervene in municipal affairs in Washington, D.C.
Congress also analyzes every D.C. legislation before it is passed into law. Congress has the authority to amend or even nullify D.C. laws and to impose new ones on the district.
Andrew Clyde, who introduced the resolution, said, “we have both a constitutional and moral obligation to take action against the D.C. Council’s Revised Criminal Code Act, which will undoubtedly embolden and incentivize criminals to continue terrorizing the streets of D.C.
He said he was delighted that his simple proposal was approved with bipartisan support, and he asked the Senate to quickly follow suit so that “we can guarantee that all Americans may safely enjoy our country’s capital city.”
In D.C., violent crime increased significantly in 2021. The Washingtonian stated that according to statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the number of killings climbed by 19% in 2020 and stayed the same in 2021. Carjackings have increased dramatically since 2019.
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee wrote to Bowser in March, requesting that she provide them with a strategy for dealing with the epidemic of violent crime in the nation’s capital.
Her strategy is to be even softer on crime.
