D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has confirmed she will appear before Congress on May 16 to discuss concerns about crime in the capital city.
Ms. Bowser, a Democrat, wrote a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer that says City Administrator Kevin Donahue and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee will join her, citing the panel’s “interest in discussing crime.”
The committee is digging into local policies amid widespread fears of carjackings and other crime trends in Washington.
“D.C. clearly has a crime crisis,” Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican, said last month. “Our nation’s capital has deteriorated and declined. Crime has risen dramatically. Education levels have plummeted. And the city’s finances are in disarray.”
Republicans, who retook the House this year, said residents, visitors and federal employees have the right to feel safe in the capital. Their oversight is stirring another fight over home rule in the District while shedding light on disagreements within city government.
Ms. Bowser vetoed an overhaul of the D.C. criminal code that would have decreased maximum penalties for certain gun crimes and other offenses, though the D.C. Council overrode her decision and transmitted the bill to Congress for a mandatory review period.
Republicans exercised constitutional rights to disapprove of the local law and rescind it. The effort was successful, and President Biden signed the measure despite opposing it early on.
The oversight committee received testimony from D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Council member Charles Allen, both Democrats, in late March as part of a second effort to rescind a local law that prohibited the use of neck restraints, increased access to footage from body-worn police cameras and expanded membership on the Force Review Board.
The D.C. Police Union said the overhaul is hampering recruitment and driving officers out of the city.
City lawmakers have acknowledged public concern about crime, notably carjackings, but say there isn’t a public safety crisis in the capital.
Mr. Comer said he scheduled a second hearing with Ms. Bowser because he felt it was appropriate to treat the mayor like a Cabinet secretary and give her a separate session.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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