Rep. Chip Roy Promotes Bill to Count Federal Crimes and Regulations

The Need to Count Federal Crimes

• 🎯 Rep. Chip Roy is promoting HR 2159, the Count the Crimes to Cut Act, to address the lack of clarity on the number of federal criminal offenses.
• 💡 For decades, various entities like the Department of Justice and the American Bar Association have attempted to estimate the number of federal crimes, but these have been uncertain guesses.
• ⚠️ Past estimates have ranged from around 3,000 criminal offenses in the 1980s to 5,199 in the US Code in 2019, with many more potentially buried in regulatory codes.

Scope of Federal Regulations

• 📊 It's estimated that there are approximately 300,000 federal regulations that carry criminal offenses.
• ⚖️ These regulations, spanning areas like OSHA and environmental rules, can impose penalties including jail time, significant fines, and even lead to a citizen becoming a felon.
• ❓ The American people often remain unaware of potential violations that could result in severe consequences.

Purpose of the Count the Crimes to Cut Act

• 🛠️ The bill directs the executive branch to identify and list all existing federal crimes and their associated penalties.
• ✅ This will allow Congress to review these offenses for duplication, contradictions, or whether they are too excessive or insufficient.
• 🔑 Roy emphasizes that Congress, as the "people's house," has an Article One function to know the extent of laws and penalties to inform the American public.