Reps. Roy, Trone, & Biggs lead bipartisan effort to simplify federal criminal code

WASHINGTON, DC — On Friday, Representatives Chip Roy (TX-21), David Trone (MD-06), and Andy Biggs (AZ-05) introduced the Count the Crimes to Cut Act of 2024 that would mandate collaboration between the Attorney General and federal agency heads to compile a comprehensive report detailing all federal criminal statutes and regulations entailing criminal penalties…

In the United States, there are an estimated 4,500 and 5,000 criminal statutes plus up to 300,000 regulations that carry criminal penalties. This bill would ensure each offense requires providing the following details:

• The elements of each offense.
• The potential penalties for each offense.
• The number of prosecutions brought in the last 15 years for each offense.
• The mens rea required for each offense.

The legislation is endorsed by Heritage Action, the Due Process Institute, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National District Attorneys Association, and the R Street Institute…

Full text of the legislation is available here.