Senate Set to Vote on Resolution to Invalidate Controversial D.C. Criminal Code Overhaul

The Senate is set to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would invalidate a controversial plan to overhaul the District of Columbia’s criminal code. The D.C. Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, which was approved by the district’s Council last November, was the first sweeping changes to the criminal code in 100 years.

The resolution, which requires a simple majority to pass, is likely to clear the Democratic-led Senate, with a number of Democrats expected to join their Republican colleagues in support of the measure. President Biden has said he will sign the measure, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he intends to support the resolution, though he told reporters it was a “close question.”

The disapproval resolution has divided Democrats, with some arguing that it could undermine the movement for statehood. Schumer said he was voting yes on the resolution, citing the need to update the criminal justice code, which hasn’t been changed since 1901.

“These are sensible proposals to update a criminal justice code that hasn’t been changed since 1901. It was a close question, but on balance I’m voting yes,” Schumer said.

The resolution would reverse the changes made by the D.C. Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, which reduced the penalties for certain nonviolent offenses and eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offenses. It also created a new system for expunging criminal records and increased the use of alternatives to incarceration.