U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) today took to the Senate floor to slam D.C. Democrats’ dangerous, soft-on-crime policy, describing the effort as sacrificing “the safety and security of the residents and visitors to our nation’s capital on the religious altar of the ultra-progressive social justice agenda.”
Under the D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress is tasked with overseeing Washington, D.C.—a federal district where people employed by and meeting with their federal representatives should be safe to live and work.
Late last year, amid a surge in violent crimes in D.C. and across the nation, the D.C. City Council unanimously voted to overhaul the city’s criminal code by lowering sentences for gun crimes, eliminating most mandatory minimum sentences, and reducing the maximum punishment for violent offenses such as home invasions, homicides, carjackings, and robberies. After a veto from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the City Council overrode the mayor’s decision.
After facing opposition and scrutiny from senators on both sides of the aisle, and the president, the D.C. City Council attempted to withdraw the legislation, a process without basis in the Home Rule Act. The Senate is set to vote on a resolution of disapproval that would block changes to the D.C. criminal code, and make every Democrat senator decide if they support the far-left’s radical, soft-on-crime policies.
