US Senate votes to block DC crime bill

THE MEASURE, APPROVED 81-14, MARKS THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN 30 YEARS THAT CONGRESS HAS TURNED BACK A DISTRICT LAW.

WASHINGTON: The Democraticled Senate overwhelmingly voted to overturn a District of Columbia (DC) law that pares back penalties for some violent crimes, the latest sign of the party’s defensive position on crime and a blow to Washington statehood and home rule advocates.

The measure, approved 81-14 on Wednesday night, marks the first time in more than 30 years that Congress has turned back a local District law, a remarkable reversal for Democrats who have largely supported the ability of the Democratic-dominated city to govern itself.

The House passed its own version of the measure in February.

Senate Democrats supporting the bill included those up for re-election next year in the most heavily contested states, including Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

The ranks of Democratic supporters grew after President Joe Biden in a surprise move last week said he would sign the Republican-led measure. This week, majority leader Chuck Schumer announced that he would vote for it.

The city’s law reduces punishment for a variety of violent offences at a time when rates for homicides and carjackings are soaring.

In 2021 and 2022, homicides reached levels not seen since 2003, according to the Washington Post. The Metropolitan police department says there have been 101 carjacking offences in the district so far this year, two-thirds of them involving guns.

Democrats who supported the measure said they had been motivated in part by DC mayor Muriel Bowser, who vetoed the legislation. The city council overrode her veto. Bowser, however, has come out against Congress’s intervention, calling it an affront to the notion of home rule.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said that while there were some controversial provisions of the new criminal code, many other cities call for even lighter sentences for armed robbery and carjackings, and in some categories, like sexual assault, the DC Council was raising penalties and even creating new ones like reckless endangerment with a firearm.

Van Hollen said federal lawmakers were substituting their judgment for that of city lawmakers. Washington is a federal district and does not have voting congressional representation, giving Congress more power there than in a state.

“This resolution is an attack on the democratic rights of the people of the District of Columbia, which has its own duly elected democratic representatives,” Van Hollen said.

Yet other Democrats — including at least one from a neighbouring state — argued that it’s the wrong time to lower penalties on criminals.