Congressional lawmakers raised the alarm Thursday about the District of Columbia’s soft-on-crime policies they said are fostering a spike in violence and threatening the safety of representatives, staffers and visitors.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil blamed the D.C. Council for cutting the Metropolitan Police budget and setting the stage for last year’s 26-year-high in killings and record-high carjackings.
The Wisconsin Republican said it resulted in an “overflow” effect that is stressing the U.S. Capitol Police’s duty to protect people around the federal campus.
That sentiment was echoed by his six fellow Republicans at the hearing, who outnumbered the lone Democrat in attendance — ranking member Rep. Joe Morelle of New York.
Mr. Steil also mentioned that D.C. Council member Charles Allen, the Ward 6 Democrat who represents the Capitol Hill neighborhood, among others, declined an invitation to attend the hearing.
Mr. Allen is facing a grassroots recall effort over his push to cut city police funding in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder and for championing a massive rewrite to D.C.’s criminal code that Congress shot down last year for being too offender-friendly.
His failure to appear prompted Rep. Greg Carey, North Carolina Republican, to ask the chairman if the committee has the authority to subpoena the D.C. Council. Mr. Steil said they do.
“It’s absolutely infuriating [that] we’re allowing a city council to let havoc be wreaked in this town because they don’t like law enforcement,” Mr. Carey said. “It’s time for the adults to come back in the room, and make this country — and this city — safe.”
Lawmakers and staffers were among the scores of victims in the city’s 2023 violent crime wave.
Rep. Angie Craig, Minnesota Democrat, was assaulted by a man inside her apartment complex in February 2023. A month later, a man recently released from jail stabbed a staffer for Sen. Rand Paul along the H Street Corridor in Northeast in a random attack.
Armed car thieves also took aim at lawmakers when Rep. Henry Cuellar, Texas Republican, was jacked near his Navy Yard apartment in October. A staffer for Sen. Katie Britt was robbed of her purse and car keys at gunpoint that same month on E Street Northeast.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger testified that Capitol Police have seen an increase in arrests over the past four years, including 234 people taken into custody in 2023 on charges related to assault, drugs, stolen vehicles, illegal weapons and driving under the influence.
But Chief Manger added that, despite the limited area in which the protection agency has jurisdiction, they regularly help Metropolitan Police apprehend dangerous criminals.
The chief said a team of his officers tackled a robbery suspect running down I Street Southeast on March 6 after they heard an alert over the radio.
They also arrested a man accused of hitting someone with a tree branch on New Jersey Avenue Southeast earlier this year.
Last fall, USCP officers chased down and nabbed a pair of serial carjackers just west of Union Station.
“U.S. Capitol Police understand that our priority has to be this Capitol campus, but we also understand that our community doesn’t just stay on this campus,” Chief Manger said at the hearing.
Rafael Mangual, a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, testified that the lagging prosecution rate from the U.S. Attorney’s Office — the federal prosecutors who handle most major crimes in the city — is contributing to the number of repeat offenders walking the streets.
Federal data showed the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted one-third of the cases brought to its office by police in fiscal year 2022. The number of prosecutions became a sticking point for federal lawmakers, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and residents last year, who were all shocked by the low number.
By the end of fiscal year 2023, the prosecution rate jumped to 44%.
Mr. Morelle criticized some of his Republican colleagues for supporting funding cuts to the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, in light of the city’s crime woes.
He also noted that violent crime in the District is down 16% through the first quarter of the year, with drops in homicides (down 31%), carjackings (down 13%) and robberies (down 8%).
But Gregg Pemberton, the head of the D.C. Police Union, testified that too few offenders are facing serious consequences. It’s hurting the morale of the Metropolitan Police force, he said, which is facing a 50-year-low in officer numbers.
“It’s horrible because you arrest people for violent crimes, and then they’re back out on the street the next day,” Mr. Pemberton said. “They’re never held accountable for their actions and it really [has] an impact on morale.”
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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