CLEAN DC Act

Mr. Speaker, today, the House of Representatives debated the Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC Act of 2025 (H.R. 5107). I include in the Record a letter opposing this bill led by the DC Justice Lab.

Letter of opposition

RE H.R. 5107 and any related attempts to repeal or weaken the

District of Columbia's Comprehensive Policing and Justice

Reform Amendment Act of 2022

Hon. Mike Johnson,

Speaker of the House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Hakeem Jeffries,

House Minority Leader,

Washington, DC.

Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Jeffries: We, the

undersigned organizations and individuals committed to public

safety and democratic self-governance, urge you to oppose all

legislative efforts now before Congress that would repeal,

defund, or weaken the District of Columbia's Comprehensive

Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (CPJRAA).

This includes H.R. 5107/S. 2687 (the CLEAN DC Act), which is

up for a vote this week, and H.R. 5166, Sec. 827 (the

Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act

rider blocking CPJRAA implementation).

Together, these bills would dismantle one of the District's

most significant public safety and accountability reforms in

decades. They would reinstate dangerous practices, reopen

pathways for abusive officers to remain on the force, and

override a democratically enacted law grounded in research,

expert input, and community consensus.

The CPJRAA responds to longstanding gaps in police

oversight, transparency, and discipline.

The law strengthened the Office of Police Complaints,

expanded the Police Complaints Board, required the creation

of a public misconduct database, and required timely release

of body-worn camera footage following deaths or serious uses

of force. It closed arbitration loopholes that previously

reinstated officers fired for serious misconduct. In an 18-

month period, the District paid $5.6 million in back pay to

just ten officers who were fired and then returned to duty

through arbitration. The CPJRAA corrected this. These bills

would take us backward.

The CPJRAA also protects residents from dangerous and

deadly encounters.

It restricts deadly force; bans neck restraints; limits

high-speed police pursuits in a dense city where bystanders

are most likely to be hurt; and regulates the acquisition of

military-grade weapons. These reforms were enacted because

these dangerous tactics have repeatedly killed District

residents, disproportionately Black residents, and endangered

children, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other bystanders.

The CPJRAA reduces biased policing and strengthens

evidence-based decision-making.

It improves consent search rules, mandates anti-bias and

de-escalation training, requires review of an officer's poor

misconduct before hiring, and directs independent assessment

of possible ties between officers and hate groups. It

modernizes data systems across agencies and ensures

transparency around school-based arrests, less-lethal

weapons, and disciplinary actions.

Repealing or defunding this law would not make the District

safer. It would restore outdated and harmful practices that

undermine trust, community safety, and officer morale. It

would weaken oversight structures that law enforcement

leaders themselves have said were necessary to keep ``very

bad officers'' off the force (see page 173 of the Report by

the Police Reform Commission). And it would override the

decisions of local officials who are accountable to the

people who live in the District.

Congress should respect the District's authority to govern

itself, especially on matters of public safety. Allowing

these bills to move forward would set a troubling national

precedent by permitting federal intervention into local

policing policy, even when the local reforms are backed by

research, crafted through community input, and aligned with

modern public safety standards.

For these reasons, we urge you to vote against H.R. 5107,

and any related attempts to repeal or obstruct the CPJRAA.

D.C. residents deserve the right to determine the policies

that keep their communities safe.

Sincerely,

Clinique Chapman,

CEO, DC Justice Lab.

Organizational signatories:

ACLU-D.C., Black Swan Academy, Community Shoulders, DC

Action, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, DC Democratic

State Committee, DC for Democracy, DC Jail & Prison Advocacy

Project, Fair Budget Coalition, Free DC, Free Minds Book Club

& Writing Workshop, Georgetown Law Center for Innovations in

Community Safety, Harriet's Wildest Dreams, Interfaith Action

for Human Rights.

Leadership for Justice Innovation, LLC, League of Women

Voters of the District of Columbia, League of Women Voters of

the United States, Legislation Clinic (University of the

District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law), Metro DC

DSA, Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, Miriam's Kitchen, More

Than Our Crimes.

Movement for Freedom, Neighbors for Justice, Neighbors

United for DC Statehood, Open Horizon, Pretrial Justice

Institute, Raise One Teach One Dalaneo Martin Foundation,

RebuildingTheCommunity, Reframe Health and Justice, School

Justice Project, Scrofano Law PC.

Seeding Stories/Sembrando Historias, Tzedek DC, University

of Baltimore School of Law Center for Criminal Justice

Reform, Volare, Ward 3 Democratic Committee, Ward 3 Democrats

Statehood Task Force, Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil

Rights and Urban Affairs, Wren Action Group.

Individual signatories:

Adam D. Harris, Ailsa Hermann-Wu, AJ Cho, Alex Tyson,

Allister Layne, Aloysius Wald, Andrew Kincare, Ann Wasgatt,

Anne Cauman, Aphra, April Lasiter, Ashley, District Resident,

At-Large Councilmember, Robert White, B. Yohe, Barbara Kraft,

Bill Scher, Blaine Stum, Breanna Gilland, Brianna Buford.

Bruce R. Ross, Carl Jakobsson, Chantel Rollins, Char Esser,

Rabbi Charles Feinberg, Cheryl Dzubak, Cheryl Eames, Cheryl

Marlin, Chris Hammond (Ward 7), Christine Payden-Travers,

Rev. Dr. Christopher Zacharias, (Pastor, John Wesley AME Zion

Church), Christopher, Connie Ridgeway, Cybele Kotonias,

Cynthia Lee, Dallas Windham, Darcy Skarada, David Holmes,

David Wendt, Delia T. Cooke.

Denise Lindgren, Dennis and Susan R. Kepner, Donald R.

Schwartz, Donna Tate, Dorothy Marion, Dr. Elizabeth Allen,

Eileene

Gillson, Elaine M. Carlson, Eleanor Crowe, Elinor Hart,

Elizabeth Paukstis, Emily Han, Erin Smith, F. Robert Wesley,

Francis O'Malley, George Perla, Grayson Parisee, Gregory

Denton, Gwen Umbach, Hannah Milem.

Harold Watson, Heather Goss, Hillary Ellen Kruh, Howard

Garrett, Hugh T. Keleher, Irma Salley, Isa Mirza, Isabella

LeBlanc, J. Yudell, Jackie Neece Gray, Jamelle ``Mellie''

Harris, James Flasch, James Mulcare, Jaqueline Castaneda,

Jason Miller, Jason R. Crawford, Jayme Epstein, Jeanne

Otersen, Jennifer McConnell, Jennifer Ubiera, Esq.

Jessica Wang, Jillian W., Jo Harvey, Joanne S. Metzler, Joe

LeBlanc, Jon Drago, Joy Welan, Kahlil Goodwyn, Kameron Davis,

Karen Cassell, Kathleen A. Mireault, Kathy Colton, Kenedi

McCormick, Kerry Krebill, Kerry Krebill, Kevin K. Walsh,

Kristopher Burrell, LaShunda Hill, Laura Esparza, Laura

Mitterman.

Laurent Ross, Lawerency J.C. Boone Sr., Layne Emery, Leah

Tribbett, Leonard Edwards, Leslie, Linda B., Linda D. Lee,

Linda Oeth, Linda Richardson, Lisa Morenoff, Lore

Wintergreen, Lori Stefano, Lorraine Brabham, Lowell Palm,

Lucinda Snow, Lynette Rynders, Lynn D. Carlson, Madeleine

Straubel, Madeline Hall,

Maeve Gallagher, Maggie Kelfstad, Marcia Curry, Mark

Schroeder, Marsha Davison, Marta Beresin, Maureen Ellis,

Maureen McCarthy, Melanie E. Bates, Michael Smith, Michael

Winston Pan, Minyara Willingham, Monique Jackson,Mykel Victor

Reese, Mystelle Ruble, Naike Savain (Former DC Police Reform

Commissioner), Nashrah Ahmed, Nathan Brenner Sr., Nicola,

Noam Stopak.

Norah Renken, Patricia Harlow, Phil Klein, Rachel Neurohr,

Rafaella Zabot-Hall, Rebbie Davis, Regina Coates, Renaud

De'Aundre Brown, Robert Burks, Ron Mittan, Ronald Hampton

(Washington Representative, Blacks in Law Enforcement), Ryan

Lynch, Sade Cole, Samantha Luisa Crisanti, Sarah Bradach,

Sarah Jane Shoenfeld, Shane O'Shea, Shannon Harper, Shannon

Lynch, Shay Mussulman.

Sincere Allah, Sophia, Sophia Bos-Shadi, Stephan Donovan,

Stephen E. Benson, Stephen Keener, Susan & David Courrejou,

Susan Castelli-Hill, Susan Courtney, Susan Halversen, Susan

Sasha Beth Silverstein, Thea Cabrera Montego, Theodore Voth,

Tom Kirk, Virginia Avniel Spatz, Wade Hampton, Patricia

Stamper (Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 7C06), Will

Yetvin.

Mr. Speaker, today, the House of Representatives debated the Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC Act of 2025 (H.R. 5107) and the District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025 (H.R. 5214). I include in the Record a letter opposing these bills led by Free DC.

Free DC,

November 17, 2025.

Dear Representative: There are currently six bills queued

up for floor votes in the House attacking the District of

Columbia. These bills would severely erode DC's already

limited control over its criminal justice system and leave

individuals and organizations in DC at the mercy of this

administration as they continue implementing an authoritarian

agenda. These bills would roll back evidence-based criminal

justice reforms passed by the duly elected DC Council,

introduce new punitive measures that would harm DC residents,

and grant the president even more direct control over DC

government. We, the undersigned national organizations, urge

you and all House members to be strong allies to DC and

oppose all these bills.

We have seen what the Trump administration's interference

in local law enforcement has done so far. Communities have

been terrorized by federal agents' race-based targeting of

residents and National Guard soldiers carrying weapons of war

in DC streets.

Trump's appointee for U.S. Attorney for DC, Jeanine Pirro,

has repeatedly had frivolous charges rejected by grand and

petit juries. Now Trump and his allies in Congress will

attempt to remove DC's locally elected Attorney General and

appoint a lackey in his place. This would give Trump power

over not only DC's juvenile justice system, but also civil

prosecution against perceived enemies. These bills would

enable the Trump administration to attack any and all

entities in DC, from individuals to advocacy organizations to

labor unions and more. We therefore call on the House to

reject all six bills:

OPPOSE H.R. 5214, the District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform

Act, introduced by Rep. Stefanik, that would increase pre-

trial detention and require cash bail for a range of alleged

offenses. Calendar No 269.

OPPOSE H.R. 5179, the District of Columbia Attorney General

Appointment Reform Act, introduced by Rep. Fallon, that would

remove DC's elected Attorney General and grant the President

sole authority to nominate a replacement. Calendar No. 270.

OPPOSE H.R. 5107/S. 2687, the CLEAN DC Act, introduced by

Rep. Clyde and Sen. Cruz, that would repeal the Comprehensive

Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022. Calendar

No. 271.

OPPOSE H.R. 5172, the Strong Sentences for Safer D.C.

Streets Act, introduced by Rep. Biggs, that would increase or

establish mandatory minimum sentences for a number of

offenses, and remove the exception for minors. Calendar No.

279.

OPPOSE H.R. 5242/S. 2815, to repeal D.C.'s Incarceration

Reduction Amendment Act of 2016 and the Second Chance

Amendment Act of 2022, introduced by Rep. Kustoff and Sen.

Cornyn. An amendment was added to this bill in committee that

would prohibit automated traffic enforcement in DC and undo

the no-right-on-red traffic safety law. Calendar No. 293.

OPPOSE H.R. 5163, the Clean and Managed Public Spaces Act,

that would prohibit camping on public property in DC and

effectively criminalize homelessness, introduced by Rep.

Timmons. Calendar No. 294.

These six bills are only the most imminent threats facing

DC in the House. Many more bills and appropriations riders

are in the pipeline. In solidarity with the people of the

District of Columbia and our national democracy, we, the

undersigned, call on you to side with DC and oppose every

bill and rider that seeks to prohibit, restrict, or undo DC's

laws, and co-sponsor and support all bills that seek to

expand DC's local power.

DC needs more local power--not more attacks. The 700,000

people who live in DC deserve the same rights and dignity as

the people in your home district. No democracy will be able

to function in the United States if the capital city is under

military control, cannot pass or enact its own basic laws,

and is subject to anti-democratic interference against the

will of the people.

Thank you for your attention and swift action on this

matter.

Sincerely,

Free DC and, American Federation of Teachers, Bend the Arc:

Jewish Action, Black Voters Matter Fund, DC Vote, Friends of

the Earth U.S., Greenpeace USA, Indivisible, Metropolitan

Washington Council, AFL-CIO, More Than Our Crimes, Movement

for Black Lives, Movement for Freedom.

National Association of Social Workers, National Education

Association, National Women's Law Center, NETWORK Lobby for

Catholic Social Justice, People For the American Way, People

Power United, Public Citizen, Seed the Vote Action, SEIU,

Stand Up America, The Workers Circle, Voices for Progress,

50501 Movement.

To learn more about Free DC, the renewed campaign for DC

autonomy, visit freedcproject.org. For follow up questions or

additional information to inform your votes, contact Free

DC's Congress Working Group Co-chairs, Michelle Chappell and

Jacqueline Johnson.