Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed resolutions to block the Washington, D.C. Council’s Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, which would lower penalties for violent crimes in the nation’s capital.
Alaska’s Rep. Mary Peltola, however, voted to lower mandatory sentences for murder, sexual assault, and armed robbery in Washington, D.C.
The law that Peltola was attempting to preserve is the D.C. Council’s version of Alaska’s notorious Senate Bill 91, which led to a major crime spree in Alaska during the Gov. Bill Walker Administration before it was repealed by the Legislature.
It’s an ordinance so radical that even Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed it, but was overridden by the council, which is the governing body for D.C.
Police in the nation’s capital were alarmed that the city’s council was essentially letting hardened criminals out of jail and tying the hands of judges to force them into issuing light sentences.
The resolution to override the local law passed the House in February, with the majority — even many Democrats — voting to knock the crime-spree law down.
But Peltola went with the hard-core Democrats on that vote.
Read details of the House resolution against the D.C. Council’s crime-spree bill at this link.
The House, Senate, and President have the authority to override local legislation in D.C., but it takes both legislative branches and the executive branch to reverse a law.
When it came before a vote in the House, House Resolution 26 passed on a bipartisan vote 250-173, with Peltola voting “no” with Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the other members of the radical Squad.
Last week, President Joe Biden said he would land on the side of the city’s mayor, and would sign the resolution, if the Senate passed it.
The Senate vote was 81-14. A total of 33 Democrats and Democrat-aligned independents voted with Republicans to pass the bill.
Those Democrats voting to undo the D.C. soft-on-crime ordinance were: Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
