Clean Up the Code Act of 2019

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia, and I congratulate him and Mr. Chabot for this legislation. I am glad that this is one of the early bills that we are moving forward. It sets the tone for this Congress, and it sets the tone for bipartisanship. It also sets the tone for the Democratic-led Congress on the continuation of working on the idea of ensuring that justice is truly rendered.

This bill, H.R. 498, the Clean Up the Code Act of 2017, essentially repeals many unused statutes currently in the criminal code. Mr. Speaker, you have to pay a fine, but some of them even have jail time. It is right in line with the concept of ending mass incarceration just to incarcerate.

It is well-known that this Nation has the largest number of people incarcerated in Western civilization, some 2 million-plus, added to, of course, by a number of individuals who are being held in detention centers across the Nation. It is emblematic of what is terribly wrong with our criminal justice system and sheds light on why it is imperative to have an overhaul of our Federal Criminal Code while addressing the ripple effects it creates within our criminal justice system.

We had a task force entitled the Over-Criminalization Task Force in the Judiciary Committee which made an effective start on looking at Federal laws across the Nation to find out how we can best secure and safeguard the American people, bring justice to those who have done wrong, but also provide, if you will, a pathway of reasonableness as it relates to nonviolent crimes, crimes that don't have a major impact such as the concept of utilizing the Smokey Bear theme, if you will.

We began our journey several Congresses ago to work in a bipartisan way to address the ills of our criminal justice system, as I have indicated, and I look forward to having the Over-Criminalization Task Force reestablished.

As this bill seeks to promote, we must take initiatives to clean up our Federal Criminal Code, which in large part criminalizes many acts that can easily be addressed in other forms such as smaller fines. When we over-criminalize, we place an undue burden on the taxpayers and create long-term human costs on families and other communities. What we do is we create a criminal offense and we create a criminal record.

We should penalize where necessary to ensure public safety and security and hold accountable those criminals who have done major damage and who would tend to offend, where appropriate. But we should also look for ways in which we could enhance our communities, human relations with civilians and law enforcement, and promote an entirely new approach to our criminal justice system.

For all of the foregoing reasons and as well to suggest that Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl would prefer being left alone as opposed to being held up in a criminal court as a reason for that particular offender being held to a fine of a large amount or jail time, I think this is an important bill and an important step.

I congratulate the authors, both the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson)

and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot). I look forward to supporting this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 498, the ``Clean Up the Code Act of 2019.''

This legislation essentially repeals many unused statutes currently in the criminal code.

It is emblematic of what is terribly wrong with our criminal justice system and sheds light on why it is imperative to have an overhaul of our federal criminal code, while addressing the ripple effects it creates within our criminal justice system.

We began our journey several Congresses ago to work in a bipartisan way to address the ills of our criminal justice system through our Over-criminalization Task Force, which I intend to re-establish in this Congress.

As this bill seeks to promote, we must take initiatives to clean up our federal criminal code, which in large part, criminalizes many acts that can easily be addressed in other forums.

When we over-criminalize we place an undue burden on the taxpayers and create long term human costs on families and on our communities.

We should penalize where necessary to ensure public safety and hold accountable criminals where appropriate.

We should also look for ways in which we could enhance our communities, human relations with civilians and law enforcement, and provide an entirely new approach to our criminal justice system.

For all the foregoing reasons, I support this bill and ask my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me time. I hope I won't use all 5 minutes. I first want to say I support the bill under debate right now and certainly support criminal justice reform. One of the best ways, of course, we can prevent people from hopefully going down the path of crimes is to make sure they have a good education, so hence I am here to speak on H.R. 439.

Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus, I am pleased to rise with my good friend and fellow co-chair, Representative G.T. Thompson, in support of H.R. 439, the National FFA Organization's Federal Charter Amendments Act. I would like to thank my friend from Pennsylvania for his partnership on this bill which modernizes the FFA congressional charter to better serve the organization's 669,000 student members across the country.

Since 1928 the FFA, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, has been an integral part of our Nation's agricultural education system. Its mission is to prepare the next generation of farmers who form the backbone of our Nation's food supply system. Congress recognized the FFA's importance in 1950 when it granted the organization a Federal charter. But today, nearly 70 years later, that charter is overdue for an update.

Of the 100 nonprofit organizations that have charters with the Federal Government, from the Girl Scouts of America to the National Academy of Sciences, only six require government agencies to appoint members to the NGO's board of directors. Of those six, the FFA is the only federally chartered organization that requires a majority of its board members to be chosen by its partner agency, the Department of Education.

The bill that had been considered this afternoon and that passed brings the role of the Department of Education in line with other congressionally chartered organizations while maintaining the long relationship between the department and the FFA. In doing so, it gives the FFA more autonomy to deliver its integrated system of agricultural career and technical education, or CTE, to the 8,000 chapters located across all 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

H.R. 439 allows the FFA to be more independent, but it retains its ability to collaborate with the Department of Education in agriculture. It also allows the FFA to move its headquarters from Washington, D.C. and provide online publications for its chapters around the country. The FFA needs to adapt to the 21st century economy, and modernizing this charter is a necessary step in that process.

Today the FFA helps train more than future farmers. It prepares the next generation of scientists, veterinarians, and business owners through classroom and work-based learning. As a strong advocate for CTE, I am thrilled to support the skills-based education model on behalf of the FFA and its many teachers and students. Our bill aligns the FFA's charter with this focus on CTE, specifically the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Career Cluster which gives students the opportunity to explore exciting careers and be prepared for future challenges.

Our country faces daunting tasks in agricultural policy, from addressing food shortages to containing animal-borne diseases and stopping the pollution of our waterways.

Mr. Speaker, we can count on our Nation's FFA students to not only grow our economy but to become the next community of world leaders, ready to tackle these 21st century challenges.

In my home State of Rhode Island, I am continually impressed by the hardworking, motivated, bright FFA students and the dedicated teachers who instruct them. Through the FFA, these students are developing the academic and technical skills to succeed in agricultural fields and the leadership skills to make a real difference.

This bill, the National FFA Organization's Federal Charter Amendments Act, will allow the FFA to continue its mission with more autonomy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank, again, my colleague G.T. Thompson from the great State of Pennsylvania, along with Chairman Nadler and Ranking Member Collins, for their support, as well as my esteemed colleague Senator Todd Young of Indiana for leading this bipartisan effort in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for supporting this bill, and I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 498) to eliminate unused sections of the United States Code, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 498, the Clean Up the Code Act. I support this measure because it represents a small yet meaningful step toward addressing the problem of over-criminalization. H.R. 498 repeals several criminal penalties for violations that do not involve serious wrongdoing, at least not serious enough to warrant criminal prosecution or the consequences of a criminal record.

Specifically, the bill decriminalizes the transportation of water hyacinths, the unauthorized application of theft prevention decals or devices, and the unauthorized use of the 4-H Club emblem; the Swiss Confederation coat of arms; the ``Smokey Bear'' character or name; the ``Woodsy Owl'' character, name, or slogan; or the ``Golden Eagle Insignia.''

The conduct that these laws are designed to deter or punish simply does not merit criminal sanctions. This bill repeals a number of these obscure and unnecessary criminal provisions. Criminal penalties should be reserved to deter offenses that jeopardize public safety or as punishment for serious moral transgressions. Such penalties should not be used to punish minor transgressions or to discourage behavior deemed unwanted but ultimately harmless to the greater public good. Therefore, while H.R. 498 is a modest step toward addressing the problem of over- criminalization, I support its adoption by the House today.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the efforts of my colleague, Representative Steve Chabot, who is the author of this measure and who shepherded it to House passage last year with 385 votes in favor. I was the lead cosponsor of the bill last Congress, and I am pleased again to serve in that role for this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for it today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Houston, Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how many additional speakers my friend from Georgia foresees?

Mr. Speaker, with that in mind, I see that my dear colleague, Jim Langevin, has arrived. He is the sponsor of H.R. 439 which is the Future Farmers of America charter revision bill. He is the sponsor of that bill. He was on his way from the airport. His flight was delayed, but he is here now.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

Mr. Speaker, while I do not believe Federal prosecutors are neglecting the pursuit of

serious criminals by bringing charges under Criminal Code provisions that H.R. 498 would repeal, this bill serves as an important reminder that Congress should be careful not to enact new criminal penalties when they are not warranted.

We must resist overcriminalization, which fosters disrespect for the seriousness of the law and leads to collateral consequences for offenders that are often catastrophic to them and their ability to function in and contribute to their communities.

It is my hope that, in this new Congress, we will be able to work on a bipartisan basis to expand our efforts to make our criminal justice system more fair and, thereby, also more effective.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of H.R. 498. This bill continues the House Judiciary Committee's commitment to addressing over- criminalization and over-federalization in our Nation's criminal code. Last Congress I was proud to work with my friend and colleague from New York (Mr. Jeffries) to develop and enact the First Step Act, the most significant piece of criminal justice reform legislation in decades. Today's bill, championed by Mr. Chabot of Ohio, builds off that great victory and continues that process.

Part of the reasoning behind the First Step Act was that Congress, as our Nation's lawmaking body, can and should from time to time make reasonable revisions to Federal law to ensure our laws work efficiently and fairly. Today our criminal code is bloated with nearly 5,000 separate crimes. The bill before us begins to address that problem by eliminating nine sections of the Federal criminal code. Those sections either criminalize conduct that should not, fundamentally, be a Federal crime, or have never been prosecuted, or both.

For instance, the unauthorized use of the Smokey Bear emblem, while problematic, should not land someone in a Federal penitentiary for 6 months, especially when there are civil statutes already on the books protecting this and other insignia.

Mr. Speaker, this bill continues the Judiciary Committee's proven approach to criminal justice reform legislation, namely to take a scalpel, not a sledgehammer, to the criminal code. I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, and also my colleague on the Republican side of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Chabot, for their work on this.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) to speak about the bill.

Mr. Speaker, it appears we have exhausted the supply, so we are ready to close.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on H.R. 498. Again, this is a good act. The Clean Up the Code Act is one that I ask everyone to support and vote ``yes'' on, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 498, the Clean Up the Code Act of 2019. I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) for his support and his leadership in making this legislation possible.

Back in 2008, the Heritage Foundation published a report estimating that there were nearly 4,500 different Federal crimes in the U.S. Code. Five years later, the Judiciary Committee asked the Congressional Research Service to review the foundation's findings only to be told that it did not have the resources to fulfill our request. This is a clear indication that there are too many criminal laws on the books and the code needs to be cleaned up.

H.R. 498 eliminates nine provisions in Title 18, a good start, that in some instances have never been prosecuted since their enactment. For example, as has already been mentioned, the unauthorized use of the Smokey Bear or Woodsy Owl will no longer be subject to criminal penalty if this bill is enacted.

This bipartisan legislation is aimed at doing exactly what the bill title says--clean up the code. If there were too many criminal laws for the CRS to count back in 2013, let's help them get rid of the easy ones by enacting this legislation. As I say, it is a good start. It isn't going to solve the whole problem, but it is a good start, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.