House committee OKs bills aimed at overturning parts of two DC public safety laws

District leaders are once again fighting off what they are calling an assault on home rule. This time it comes from Congress, where House Republicans moved legislation Monday that takes direct aim at overturning portions of two D.C. public safety laws.

Late Monday afternoon, the U.S. House Committee on Rules voted on one bill that would reinstate a cash bail system in D.C. for defendants awaiting trial. The District had abolished cash bail back in 1992. President Donald Trump has said he wants a nationwide ban on cashless bail.

The other bill approved by the rules committee would undo portions of D.C.’s police reform act, including how police discipline is handled and when officers are allowed to review video from their body-worn cameras.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued a joint statement Monday denouncing the Republican sponsored bills.

“These bills are an affront to Home Rule and the principles of democracy and local self-governance on which this country was founded. The District is home to more than 700,000 residents who pay taxes and serve in the military. Like all Americans, they deserve the right to elect local leaders who have the authority to determine the local policies that govern them. We urge members of Congress to reject this unprecedented federal overreach and vote against these bills,” the statement said.

The bills could go before the full House of Representatives later this week.