[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]







 
             OVERDUE OVERSIGHT OF THE CAPITAL CITY: PART II

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                      OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                              MAY 16, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-32

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
  
  [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
  


                       Available on: govinfo.gov,
                         oversight.house.gov or
                             docs.house.gov
                             
                             
                             
                         ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 52-242             WASHINGTON : 2023
                            
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
               COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

                    JAMES COMER, Kentucky, Chairman

Jim Jordan, Ohio                     Jamie Raskin, Maryland, Ranking 
Mike Turner, Ohio                        Minority Member
Paul Gosar, Arizona                  Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of 
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina            Columbia
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin            Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
Gary Palmer, Alabama                 Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia
Clay Higgins, Louisiana              Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois
Pete Sessions, Texas                 Ro Khanna, California
Andy Biggs, Arizona                  Kweisi Mfume, Maryland
Nancy Mace, South Carolina           Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York
Jake LaTurner, Kansas                Katie Porter, California
Pat Fallon, Texas                    Cori Bush, Missouri
Byron Donalds, Florida               Jimmy Gomez, California
Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota        Shontel Brown, Ohio
Scott Perry, Pennsylvania            Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico
William Timmons, South Carolina      Robert Garcia, California
Tim Burchett, Tennessee              Maxwell Frost, Florida
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia      Becca Balint, Vermont
Lisa McClain, Michigan               Summer Lee, Pennsylvania
Lauren Boebert, Colorado             Greg Casar, Texas
Russell Fry, South Carolina          Jasmine Crockett, Texas
Anna Paulina Luna, Florida           Dan Goldman, New York
Chuck Edwards, North Carolina        Jared Moskowitz, Florida
Nick Langworthy, New York
Eric Burlison, Missouri

                       Mark Marin, Staff Director
       Jessica Donlon, Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel
                        Ryan Giachetti, Counsel
                 Alex Rankin, Professional Staff Member
               Lauren Hassett, Professional Staff Member
                       Mallory Cogar, Chief Clerk

                      Contact Number: 202-225-5074

                  Julie Tagen, Minority Staff Director
                      Contact Number: 202-225-5051

                                 ------                                
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Hearing held on May 16, 2023.....................................     1

                               WITNESSES

                              ----------                              

Mayor Muriel Bowser, District of Columbia
    Oral Statement...............................................     6
The Honorable Matthew M. Graves, U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's 
  Office for the District of Columbia
    Oral Statement...............................................     8

 Opening statements and the prepared statements for the witnesses 
  are available in the U.S. House of Representatives Repository 
  at: docs.house.gov.

                           INDEX OF DOCUMENTS

                              ----------                              

  * Statement for the Record, for Rep. Connolly; submitted by 
  Rep. Connolly.

  * Article, Washington Post, ``D.C. Math, Reading Test Scores 
  Fall to Lowest Level in More Than Five Years''; submitted by 
  Rep. Grothman.

  * Washington, D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of 
  Education (OSSE) Social Studies Standards Draft for Public 
  Comment; submitted by Rep. Grothman.

  * Questions for the Record: to Mayor Bowser; submitted by Rep. 
  Gosar.

  * Questions for the Record: to Police Chief Contee; submitted 
  by Rep. Gosar.

  * Questions for the Record: to Mr. Graves; submitted by 
  Chairman Comer.

  * Questions for the Record: to Mr. Graves; submitted by Rep. 
  Gosar.

  * Questions for the Record: to Mr. Graves; submitted by Rep. 
  Norton.

The documents are available at: docs.house.gov.


             OVERDUE OVERSIGHT OF THE CAPITAL CITY: PART II

                              ----------                              


                     Tuesday, May 16, 2023

                        House of Representatives

               Committee on Oversight and Accountability

                                           Washington, D.C.

    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., in 
room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. James Comer 
[Chairman of the full Committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Comer, Gosar, Grothman, Palmer, 
Higgins, Sessions, Biggs, Mace, LaTurner, Fallon, Donalds, 
Armstrong, Perry, Timmons, Burchett, Greene, McClain, Boebert, 
Luna, Edwards, Burlison, Raskin, Norton, Connolly, 
Krishnamoorthi, Mfume, Brown, Stansbury, Garcia, Frost, Balint, 
Lee, Casar, Crockett, Goldman, and Moskowitz.
    Also present: Representative Andrew Clyde, GA.
    Chairman Comer. The Committee on Oversight and 
Accountability will come to order. I want to welcome everyone 
here today.
    Without objection, the Chair may declare a recess at any 
time.
    The Committee welcomes the public to this very important 
meeting. While you are here, I want to point out to the Members 
and the audience today that House Rule XI provides that the 
Chairman of the Committee may punish breaches of order and 
decorum, including exclusion from the hearing. All participants 
will be required to avoid unruly behavior and inappropriate 
language. Expressions of support or opposition are not in 
order, and that includes holding up signs. I expect all parties 
to these proceedings to conduct themselves in a manner that 
reflects properly on the U.S. House of Representatives.
    I now recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening 
statement.
    Under Article I of the Constitution, Congress has 
jurisdiction over the Nation's capital, and the House rules 
charged this Committee with a duty to oversee the municipal 
affairs of the District of Columbia. We want our Nation's 
capital to be safe and prosperous, a city for its residents and 
visitors alike. But our Nation's capital is declining by 
several metrics. Crime has gone through the roof; education 
levels are on the floor. According to the D.C. Metropolitan 
Police Department, motor vehicle thefts in the District have 
increased by over 100 percent compared to this time last year. 
Fifty-seven percent of these carjackings are committed by 
juveniles. Total property crime is up 30 percent. Homicides are 
on track to the highest rate since 2003. This year alone, we 
have already seen over 1,500 violent crimes committed with the 
total crime up 27 percent from last year.
    Washington, DC. clearly has a crime crisis. At this 
committee's March 29 hearing, members of the D.C. Council 
refused to acknowledge this reality. D.C. Council Chairman Phil 
Mendelson went as far as saying there is not a crime crisis in 
Washington, DC, but the numbers speak for themselves. The 
residents of D.C. and Americans who come to visit their 
Nation's capital deserve to be safe. I am concerned about a 
lack of resources and funding for the Metropolitan Police 
Department as well as officer retention and recruitment 
challenges. And I am concerned that the U.S. Attorney's Office 
for the District of Columbia, which prosecutes local crimes in 
D.C., declined to prosecute 67 percent of cases last year.
    The D.C. Council's continued attempts to push soft-on-crime 
legislation and policies are emboldening criminals. Mayor 
Bowser thankfully opposed many of D.C. Council's reckless 
actions and rhetoric. This Republican-led House has passed two 
joint resolutions to halt these soft-on-crime proposals from 
the council. Both of these joint resolutions passed with 
bipartisan support. However, many of my Democratic colleagues 
on this Committee have actively cheered on the Council's 
reckless actions and criticized congressional action to restore 
order. I hope this Committee will come together for substantive 
discussions on how to address our capital city's most pressing 
issues, especially crime.
    Today's hearing will also address the crucial role that the 
Mayor plays in ensuring the best possible education for the 
District's children. Pandemic policies and prolonged closures 
have led to huge drops in math and language scores for students 
across all grades. These policies have also resulted in record-
level truancy. In 2022, 48 percent of D.C. students qualified 
as chronically absent from school--48 percent. Something needs 
to be done to turn the situation around. I look forward to 
hearing some solutions today.
    Finally, maximum Federal telework has created huge 
financial strains on the District. Downtown D.C. has become a 
shadow of its former self. Mayor Bowser has been vocal about 
the need for Federal employees to return to office, yet 
bustling streets and full office buildings have been replaced 
by maximum telework, leading to businesses leaving the District 
and have resulted in substantial loss of revenue. It is time in 
the post-pandemic world to have our Federal Government workers 
return to their offices, especially D.C. offices, to continue 
to serve the American people.
    I thank the Mayor and U.S. Attorney for appearing today as 
well as Chief Contee and Administrator Donahue. This week is 
also National Police Week, so I would like to send an 
additional thank you to the men and women who police the 
streets of D.C. to keep us safe and to all officers across the 
country who serve their communities. I look forward to working 
with my colleagues and District leaders here today to achieve 
meaningful progress on the critical issues facing our Nation's 
capital.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Raskin for his opening 
remarks.
    Mr. Raskin. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. 
Chairman, and forgive me, but I think we are at a point when we 
have to ask why we are doing this again. I wonder if second 
guessing the elected leadership of Washington, DC. is really 
the most urgent priority for the U.S. Congress today. I can 
think of dozens of things more urgently important to the 
American people, starting with the out-of-control gun violence 
that is taking thousands of lives and causing millions of 
people to live in fear and terror.
    From Kentucky to Tennessee, from Georgia to California, we 
have had more mass shootings in 2023 than we have had days in 
the year so far. In other words, there is a gun massacre, not 
always with an AR-15, but often with an AR-15, every single 
day. And yet assault weapons account for only one percent to 
two percent overall of firearm fatalities in America. The vast 
hole from gun violence in our Swiss-cheese-like gun laws make 
America an absolute outlier among the industrialized nations in 
the world.
    Did you know that there are countries whose foreign 
ministries have issued travel warnings to their citizens about 
the dangers of coming to America because of gun violence? Gun 
violence is now the leading cause of death for children under 
18, surpassing car accidents, pediatric cancer, and contagious 
diseases. And yet, the Oversight Committee has not seen fit to 
call a single hearing on why these massacres are increasing in 
our country or how we can work together effectively across 
party lines to stop this bloodbath. Nor have we held a hearing 
on the threat of a default, which could plunge America into a 
deep recession, crash the stock market, and cost our people 
millions of jobs.
    The Constitution does not allow any of this because Section 
4 of Article IV says that the validity of the public debt shall 
not be questioned, and yet our colleagues, who were content to 
raise the debt limit three times under President Trump, a 
President who created 25 percent of all the debt accumulated 
between George Washington and Joe Biden, seek to play a 
dangerous political game with the full faith and credit of the 
United States Nation, which has, up until this point, never 
stiffed its creditors or defaulted on its obligations. No 
hearings on that.
    And we have called no hearings on the war on freedom in 
America, the shocking new efforts to ban textbooks, censor and 
intimidate teachers, silence scientists, humiliate and cancel 
LGBTQ students, and rewrite our Nation's history textbooks to 
conform to the White nationalist ideology that a Republican 
senator publicly embraced just a few days ago. Nor have we held 
a hearing on how the Dobbs decision and the relentless attack 
on reproductive freedom is dramatically undermining the 
healthcare that millions of American women receive on 
everything from common miscarriages to ectopic pregnancies to 
postpartum hemorrhage to endometrial biopsy, all of whose 
treatments can involve misoprostol and mifepristone, which are 
suddenly being treated like criminal contraband across the 
country. Doesn't women's health warrant even a single hearing 
under these crisis conditions?
    And nor have we had a hearing on the assault on voting 
rights taking place. Instead, we have gathered today to hold a 
second hearing to micromanage the local affairs of Washington, 
DC. And I fully expect some of our colleagues to announce their 
candidacies for D.C. City Council from Ward 6 where we sit, or 
mayor of the District of Columbia when this is all over, or 
maybe Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. At least the people 
of Washington would have some role in this performance art.
    But I was watching President Trump's town hall meeting on 
CNN last week, and I saw two remarkable things that clarified 
in my mind what is happening here. First, I saw Donald Trump 
blame Vice President Pence for failing to steal the election 
for him on January 6. As Trump emphasized on January 6, he 
believed, and he continues to believe, that Pence did not have 
``the courage to do what needed to be done.'' Moreover, Trump 
assured his cult followers that Pence was never in any danger 
from the invading mob chanting, ``Hang Mike Pence.'' And all 
the violence was Pence's own fault for not succumbing to Trump 
and becoming the first Vice President in our history to step 
outside of his constitutional role and declare the President 
the winner against the actual Electoral College vote. You see, 
that is what Pence gets for not doing what he was told by 
Donald Trump.
    But we also saw Trump castigate and blame Jean Carroll, the 
woman he sexually abused in a department store and later lied 
about and defamed. Trump called her a whack job and asked what 
kind of woman meets somebody and brings them up, and within 
minutes you are playing hanky-panky in a dressing room. You 
see, he thinks it is her fault that he sexually abused her. And 
watching these two glaring cases of the GOP frontrunner for the 
Presidential nomination in 2024 blaming the victim for his 
crime made me see what is happening with these hearings on 
Washington. They are part of an effort to deny Americans who 
live in Washington the right to participate in representative 
government, and then to blame them for their own 
disenfranchisement and their own lack of representation in 
Congress.
    Nearly 700,000 U.S. citizens live in D.C. They pay more 
taxes per capita than the residents of each of the 50 states. 
They fought in every U.S. war, they are draftable, they are 
subject to all the laws of the country, and against all odds, 
without the power to select their own judges or prosecutors or 
make their own budgets without outside interference. They have 
made real progress in their community over the decades, and 
they have non-violently petitioned for statehood, the way 37 
states have done it in our history, but they still have no 
voting representation in the House or the Senate. They are 
locked out of the normal processes of congressional 
representation.
    And yet, when violent insurrectionists attacked this body 
on January 6, 2021, a ``beautiful day'' according to President 
Trump, the people of Washington as Capitol Police officers, and 
Metropolitan Police Department officers, and staffers, and 
citizens, and local officials, like Mayor Bowser and Chief 
Contee, rallied to the defense of the Congress and the republic 
and the very institutions that locked them out. Local residents 
and leaders stood up to defend us and to defend the Vice 
President against the rampaging mob that stormed the seat of 
government in the name of the Big Lie with the explicit goal of 
toppling and stealing a Presidential election.
    Now, for their service and their sacrifice for the country, 
Washingtonians must endure lectures about their unfitness for 
democracy from other people's representatives who confuse the 
act of seditious conspiracy with tourism, and called the 
convicted assailants of American police officers, political 
prisoners. If our colleagues choose to ignore the statehood 
petition of the people of Washington, there is not much we can 
do about that kind of moral indifference and contempt for other 
Americans' rights. But at least spare everyone the Trumpian 
spectacle of blaming the victims for their own 
disenfranchisement and lack of fully comprehensive government. 
It is an insult to Washington, it is an embarrassment to 
Congress, and it is a shocking waste of time.
    I want to thank the Mayor and the U.S. Attorney for 
appearing here today, and I want to thank the people of 
Washington for not violently attacking Congress, even though 
you have a legitimate political grievance as opposed to an 
imaginary one. You have exercised your rights under the First 
Amendment and the Ninth Amendment to petition for statehood 
admission, and we salute your patriotic defense of the 
Constitution and this body, and your embrace of nonviolent 
change. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The gentleman yields back. I must admit, 
when you kept referencing the election interference, I thought 
you were going to refer to the Durham report, but you never 
did.
    I am pleased to introduce our witnesses today. First, we 
have Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has been mayor of Washington, DC. 
since 2015 and was reelected last year to serve a third term in 
office. Mayor Bowser serves as the chief executive of the 
government of the District of Columbia, overseeing city life 
and government operations, District economic development, and 
the D.C. police, among other critical matters. She is joined by 
two D.C. officials to assist with questions.
    Robert J. Contee, III, has served as Chief of the 
Metropolitan Police Department, MPD, since early 2021. Chief 
Contee is a native of the District and has spent his career 
serving the MPD. Thank you for your service, sir. Kevin Donahue 
was appointed to serve as City Administrator for the District 
of Columbia by Mayor Bowser in January 2021. In this role, Mr. 
Donahue helps oversee D.C.'s day-to-day government operations. 
And finally, Matthew Graves serves as U.S. Attorney for the 
District of Columbia. Mr. Graves has served as U.S. attorney 
since he was confirmed in November 2021. I look forward to 
hearing from the witnesses regarding the District of Columbia 
and their efforts to ensure our Nation's capital is a safe and 
well-managed place for all.
    Pursuant to Committee Rule 9(g), the witnesses will please 
stand and raise their right hands.
    Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you are 
about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
the truth, so help you God?
    [A chorus of ayes.]
    Chairman Comer. Let the record show that the witnesses all 
answered in the affirmative.
    We appreciate all of you being here today and look forward 
to your testimony. Let me remind the witnesses that we have 
read your written statements, and they will appear in full in 
the hearing record. Please limit your oral statements to five 
minutes. As a reminder, press the button on the microphone in 
front of you so that it is on, and the Members can hear you. 
When you begin to speak, the light in front of you will turn 
green. After four minutes the light will turn yellow. When the 
red light comes on, your five minutes have expired, and we 
would ask that you please wrap up.
    I recognize Mayor Bowser for her opening statements. Thank 
you, Mayor.

                       STATEMENT OF MURIEL BOWSER

                                 MAYOR

                          DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

    Mayor Bowser. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you 
Ranking Member Raskin. I want to recognize my Congresswoman, 
Eleanor Holmes Norton, and all Members of the Committee.
    I am Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington, DC. I am joined 
today by the Chief of Police, Robert Contee, and the City 
Administrator, Kevin Donahue. A lot has been said about 
Washington, DC. over the past weeks and months, and as someone 
who was born and raised here and served in elected office since 
2005, I dare say I know more than most. So, I would like to 
start by sharing a little bit of my story and also setting the 
record straight.
    I am older than D.C. home rule by one year. The D.C. I was 
born into did not have an elected mayor or an elected council. 
The residents of D.C. had no elected representation except for 
school board. The D.C. my parents were born into, they could 
not even vote for President, despite my father serving more 
than 20 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, committed to 
protecting America's democracy. My father is just one example 
of the indignities that D.C. residents have suffered, but he is 
not alone.
    When I was just one years old, in 1973, Congress passed the 
D.C. Home Rule Act, creating a local government while retaining 
Congress' power to overrule local legislation. Today, we have 
an elected mayor, 13-member council, and attorney general, but 
we still lack any voting representation in Congress. But you 
have the power to fix this through D.C. Statehood.
    Since achieving home rule, we have made significant strides 
in moving D.C. forward. I am proud to say with confidence that 
the state of our finances are strong, and the state of the 
District is strong. We are currently in the process of passing 
our 28th balanced budget. I sent the D.C. Council a budget with 
no new taxes or fees, and one that reflects the sober reality 
of our time: declining revenue due to increases in remote work 
and increased costs due to inflation.
    Still, we are a donor state and give more to the Federal 
Government than we get back, and our finances continue to be 
the envy of jurisdictions around our Nation. We got here 
through a long history of balanced budgets and clean audits. In 
fact, in January 2020, we achieved 60 days' cash on hand. In 
just over 20 years, D.C. went from junk-bond status to having a 
triple-A bond rating. We did all of this with one hand tied 
behind our back, a Congresswoman with no vote in the House, and 
no representation in the Senate at all.
    You see, we are not actually a city, not quite a state. We 
are not a colony or territory. We are 700,000 disenfranchised 
Americans living in the shadow of the Capitol with all the 
responsibilities of citizenship. And like every big-city mayor 
in America, I tackle big-city challenges all day, every day. I 
use every tool in our toolbox to address the most vexing among 
social problems troubling America, American cities and towns 
alike, gun violence being top among them.
    No one can be satisfied with increasing crime trends in any 
category. I certainly am not. In D.C., like what is happening 
around our country, we have experienced some concerning 
increases in crime. We see more illegal guns on our streets and 
more repeat violent offenders using them. Those guns are being 
used in violent crimes like homicides and carjackings, and we 
have also seen an increase in car theft. For me, these trends 
are unacceptable, and we do not accept this as a new normal.
    To understand our response, you also have to understand our 
criminal justice system, which is unique. MPD makes arrests. 
Most adult cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for D.C., 
who is, of course, part of the U.S. DOJ. Our youth offenders 
are prosecuted by our locally elected attorney general and 
committed to our local youth and rehabilitation services, but 
our youth and adult offenders are supervised by the court and 
Federal agencies. D.C. jail is local, but a majority of our 
residents who are serving time are at Federal facilities across 
the country. Our judges are also appointed by the President and 
confirmed by the Senate.
    So, I will not be making any excuses here. I am the Mayor, 
and I am responsible for making this very complicated, unique 
system work for my residents, businesses, and all Americans. 
That is why I have authorized the Chief to use any overtime 
that he deems necessary for MPD. We have launched regional and 
Federal partnerships. I created the Office of Neighborhood 
Safety and Engagement. Just yesterday, I announced the package 
of legislation that will enhance penalties for violent crime, 
provide greater discretion for the courts to determine who 
should be held pretrial, and to modify early release laws to 
assure that the voices of victims and the judgments of the 
courts are not thrown by the wayside. This legislation, coupled 
with my 2024 budget investments, will help fill gaps in our 
whole-of-government approach.
    Wrapping up, Mr. Chairman, we know that the police in our 
system and all of local officials and mayors across the country 
could also use your help. We know that access to firearms is a 
national problem, and we need commonsense gun reform. We also 
need this Congress to give the Mayor control of the D.C. 
National Guard. We welcome your partnerships for non-public 
safety initiatives as well and working with our Congresswoman 
to help give more D.C. residents a fair shot by doubling the 
D.C. TAG scholarship to $20,000 and making UDC TAG eligible. 
You can help us with Washington Union Station, help us 
celebrate the plan to get Federal workers back downtown, and 
deliver a plan for repurposing underutilized Federal spaces. We 
can work together to re-imagine RFK. The RFK campus can help us 
shape our future for both sport and a mix of uses, including 
housing and jobs.
    So let me end by saying this: I know that all of us here 
today will not see eye-to-eye on every issue, but we can all 
agree on the promise of America that our government should be 
for the people, by the people. And I can assure you that there 
was no one here that cares more about public safety than we do. 
My family is five generations D.C., and the next one is 
growing. Today is my daughter's birthday, and I am raising her 
to be a lifelong Washingtonian, too. It is my No. 1 priority to 
ensure that Washington, DC. is a place where all of our 
children can grow up safely, enjoy their full rights as 
American citizens, and where they can live up to their God-
given potential. I hope that any actions taken by this 
Committee will advance that vision. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Comer. Thank you very much, Mayor. And let me make 
this point. There will be two opening statements. All four 
witnesses will be available to answer questions, but now, the 
Chair recognizes the Honorable Mr. Graves.

                     STATEMENT OF MATTHEW M. GRAVES

                             U.S. ATTORNEY

          U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

    Mr. Graves. Thank you, and good morning, Mr. Chairman, 
Ranking Member Raskin, my representative, Congresswoman Norton, 
and the rest of the Members of the Committee. I am honored to 
be here today to discuss the public safety mission of the 
United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, 
and to represent the dedicated men and women who work 
tirelessly to prosecute crime in that office.
    Our office is unique among the 94 United States Attorney's 
offices because we prosecute both Federal crime and most local 
crime committed by adults in the District of Columbia. We have 
a dedicated and talented team of prosecutors, victim advocates, 
and support staff who have a deep commitment to seeking 
justice, and they have worked diligently through a series of 
unprecedented crises since March 2020. Despite these crises, 
they have been able to secure more than 1,300 felony 
indictments for violations of District of Columbia law and more 
than 3,100 guilty pleas in felony cases for violations of 
District law during that timeframe. I am deeply proud of them 
and feel privileged to rejoin their ranks.
    Our Superior Court Division is responsible for the 
prosecution of violations of District of Columbia criminal 
laws. It has roughly 170 Assistant United States Attorneys and 
approximately 60 professional staff. Since being sworn into 
office, I have increased the number of prosecutors in the 
Superior Court Division by approximately 10 percent. These 
prosecutors are in court and the grand jury almost every day, 
and the division takes hundreds of cases to trial each year.
    Unfortunately, the District has not been immune from what 
many parts of the country are experiencing: a devastating 
proliferation of illegal firearms and increases in certain 
types of violent crime. While most violent felonies remain at 
historically low levels in the District, the number of 
shootings and homicides in the District began increasing in 
2018. Carjackings more than doubled during the course of the 
pandemic. While we understand that dealing with these issues 
requires a whole-of-government response, we recognize that 
prosecution is an important part of that response. Our office 
is focused on partnering with law enforcement and the community 
to combat the surge in shootings and homicides. We know that a 
relatively small percentage of individuals are driving a 
substantial portion of the violence in our community, and that 
much of the community-based gun violence is focused on a 
relatively few discrete areas of the District.
    So, we have focused, in turn, our investigative resources 
on those areas. We have seen that the strategy markedly reduces 
various violent crime metrics, including calls for sounds of 
gunshots and instances of violent crime. We have complete buy-
in on the strategy. MPD, our Federal law enforcement partners, 
and our office have all dedicated officers, agents, and 
prosecutors in support of these efforts.
    With respect to violent crime in Fiscal Year 2022, our 
office charged roughly 90 percent of all arrests for the most 
serious violent crimes. These numbers reflect that we will 
aggressively prosecute every violent crime that we believe we 
can prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. That has been and 
will continue to be the policy and the priority of the office. 
Despite consistently charging roughly 90 percent of arrests for 
the most serious violent crimes, the number and percentage of 
cases charged at arrest began decreasing year over year in 
Fiscal Year 2018. The decrease accelerated as the office 
simultaneously managed the COVID-19 pandemic and the D.C. 
Department of Forensic Science's loss of accreditation.
    We are past the worst of these challenges. Indeed, we 
already see the calendar year 2023 charging rates are higher 
than Fiscal Year 2022 rates. The decrease in number of cases we 
charged was largely driven by our treatment of non-violent 
misdemeanor offenses, such as unlawful entry and drug 
possession. Because these crimes greatly impact the quality of 
life of our fellow community members, we are committed to 
prosecuting these crimes in a way that both reduces their 
negative impact on the community and tries to address the 
underlying mental health and substance abuse issues that 
typically drive these crimes. But no one should confuse 
addressing these public safety issues with a strategy for 
addressing gun violence and carjackings.
    Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, and Members of the 
Committee, thank you again for the opportunity to be here 
today. We have no shortage of important work in our office, 
including prosecuting acts of international terrorism and 
disrupting malign foreign influence schemes. But nothing is 
more important to our fellow community members than the work we 
do to address violent crime. And I am happy to answer any 
questions you may have.
    Chairman Comer. I want to thank the witnesses for their 
opening statement. We will proceed with the question-and-answer 
portion of our testimony, and I will begin. And let me say 
publicly, the Mayor and I met last week and had a very positive 
meeting where I pledged that this Committee would work with her 
to try to do anything we could to advance Washington, DC. And I 
know from talking to Mayor Bowser that she agrees that tackling 
the issue of crime is a priority for her residents. And I know 
that she filed proposed legislation that she mentioned in her 
opening statement called the Safer Stronger Amendment Act, 
which would amend several provisions of the D.C. criminal law.
    And, Mayor, you have often had differences of opinion with 
the D.C. Council when it comes to reducing crime. What would 
you say are the biggest differences between your approach and 
your council's?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, Mr. Chairman, I will say, and I am 
proud that I have been elected three times now as mayor. I 
served on the Council of the District of Columbia prior to that 
for almost eight years, and I very much respect the role that 
each branch of our government plays. My job is to let the 
people of the District of Columbia and the council know what we 
need. I rely on professionals in public safety or education or 
human services who do their jobs day in and day out to advance 
the things that we need.
    And so, our approach, and I think their similarities with 
the Council, is to make sure that we have a comprehensive 
approach to crime that addresses enforcement, opportunity, and 
prevention, and we continue to do that. And when we differ, and 
we will, I will make sure that D.C. residents and members know 
what the professionals say we need.
    Chairman Comer. Do you agree that, especially in the case 
of violent criminals, it is important that there be 
consequences after an arrest, to include prosecution and jail 
time where appropriate?
    Mayor Bowser. I do.
    Chairman Comer. Are you concerned about a high number of 
decline in prosecutions for individuals by the Metropolitan 
Police Department?
    Mayor Bowser. Oh, I know that the Metropolitan Police 
Department, as our entire criminal justice system as I 
described, is kind of a complicated soup: some local that 
report directly to me, like the Chief of Police, some elected, 
like the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and the 
members of the Council, and then the courts. And so, it is our 
job to make sure that we are all working together to make the 
District safer.
    Chairman Comer. Mr. Graves, you are the U.S. attorney for 
the District of Columbia and the chief prosecutor overseeing 
the office responsible for prosecuting both Federal and local 
crimes for the District, correct? Do you also believe it is 
important that there be consequences after an arrest, to 
include prosecution and jail time where appropriate, especially 
for violent offenses?
    Mr. Graves. I am the career prosecutor. Protecting the 
safety of the community is our No. 1 mission. I absolutely 
agree with that statement.
    Chairman Comer. It has been reported that the U.S. 
Attorney's Office for D.C., that you oversee, declined to 
prosecute 67 percent of individuals arrested for D.C. crimes in 
2022. Is that accurate?
    Mr. Graves. So, thank you for the question. A little bit of 
context. As I said in my opening statement, in Fiscal Year 
2022, we prosecuted over 90 percent of the arrests for most 
serious violent crimes. Fiscal year 2022, which was a snapshot 
in time, was a very unique year with a lot going on, the 
complicated soup that the Mayor refers to, but I can report 
that our charging rates this year are already higher and 
trending upwards.
    Chairman Comer. Well, the 67 percent is nearly double the 
35 percent declination rate from 2015, and it is much higher 
than the rate for many metropolitan areas. I am sure you would 
point to many reasons for this discrepancy, but what I want to 
know is, what do you plan to do to ensure your office can 
accept more cases for prosecution after an arrest is made for 
D.C. offenses?
    Mr. Graves. That is a great question, and we are focused on 
where we are now and how we move forward as opposed to what 
happened in the past. With respect to what happened in the 
past, the declination rate, the cases that we were not 
charging, you see it increasing from Fiscal Year 2016 through 
Fiscal Year 2022, year over year. There are lots of complicated 
reasons for why that is occurring. I am focused on what we can 
do to address that and driving down rates.
    Chairman Comer. Mayor Bowser, this January, I, along with 
17 of my colleagues on this Committee, introduced the SHOW UP 
Act, which passed the House in February. The SHOW UP Act will 
require Federal Agencies to return to their pre-pandemic levels 
with respect to telework. Do you support the idea that Federal 
workers should once again return to work?
    Mayor Bowser. I absolutely support that, and I think that 
we can look at the District Government as a guide. We, of 
course, all experienced the pandemic and the necessary changes 
to work life and personal life that went along with it.
    In addition to answering your questions here, part of my 
day-to-day job as Mayor of Washington, DC. is managing 37,000 
employees. And while we had modified operations, 40 percent of 
our employees were never eligible for telework: the minimum of 
the Metropolitan Police Department, fire and EMS, our public-
school teachers who went into classrooms every day of the 
pandemic or soon after we reopened. I reopened D.C. Government 
in June 2021, following the previous March where COVID really 
changed our lives around the world. We have made some 
allowances, of course. We have more telework than we did before 
the pandemic, but I require the agencies that report to me to 
show up three days a week.
    Chairman Comer. Thank you, Mayor. Hopefully, that bill will 
get a vote in the Senate. Now the Chair recognizes Ms. Norton 
for five minutes.
    Ms. Norton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thirty-seven states 
have been admitted to the Union since the adoption of the 
Constitution. All have been admitted by simple legislation. 
None were admitted by constitutional amendment. Congress has 
previously altered the boundaries of the Federal District, also 
known as D.C., including reducing its size by 30 percent in 
1846.
    When Democrats last controlled the House of 
Representatives, the House twice passed the D.C. Statehood bill 
which would have admitted the state of Washington, Douglass 
Commonwealth and reduce the size of the Federal District. The 
state would have consisted of 66 of the 68 square miles of the 
current Federal District, and the Federal District, which would 
have remained under Congress' control, would have consisted of 
the other two miles.
    The Constitution's admissions clause commits to Congress 
the power to admit new states. The Constitution's District 
clause gives Congress plenary authority over the Federal 
District. Last Congress, during consideration of the D.C. 
Statehood bill, dozens of leading constitutional scholars, 
including Laurence Tribe, the preeminent constitutional scholar 
of the last 50 years, said in a letter to Congress that, 
``There is no constitutional barrier to admitting the state of 
Washington, Douglass Commonwealth.''
    The text of the Constitution is clear that Congress has the 
authority to admit the state of Washington, Douglass 
Commonwealth. Republicans, therefore, have turned to spurious 
objections. They say that D.C. does not have the right types of 
retail establishments, like car dealerships, or the right types 
of industry, like mining or logging, or that D.C. elects too 
many Democrats. We have even heard dog whistles. One Republican 
senator infamously said the state, a majority of whose 
residents would be Black and Brown, would not be ``a well-
rounded working-class state.''
    We have seen many such unprincipled and extra-
constitutional arguments in opposition to the admission of new 
states before. Each future state eventually overcame them. In 
2016, 86 percent of D.C. voters voted in favor of D.C. 
Statehood. Mayor Bowser, why do you think the referendum 
received such overwhelming support?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, that is a great question Congresswoman. 
We worked very hard, and you have worked very hard over the 
years to demonstrate to the people of Washington, DC. why we do 
everything we are asked to as American citizens, how we 
function as a state in most regards, how we run a city 
government and financial structure that would make most 
jurisdictions proud, yet we are here. We look at the Capitol, 
we see Congress people, we are involved in national 
discussions, yet we have no vote here and it is unconscionable.
    I think D.C. residents also recognize not only do we lack 
representation, but we lack full autonomy. We see, for example, 
that laws that have been passed, duly, by our elected 
officials. Admittedly, I have not agreed with all of them, but 
I do agree with the right of an elected legislature to make the 
laws that it chooses. I think people have also seen now the 
Federal Government trample on us, take over our streets, send 
troops with aircraft to hover over us. And so, that full lack 
of autonomy can only be addressed by statehood.
    You rightly point out that a simple legislation approved by 
this Congress could make us a state, just like 37 other states 
that have been admitted to this great Union. You also rightly 
point out that the Constitution does not preclude it. You also 
rightly point out that the arguments that have been made have 
been exposed as partisan arguments. And for us, statehood is 
not a red state or blue state question. It is a question about 
how do we perfect our democracy by ensuring that 700,000 
people, who are Americans just like you, enjoy full citizenship 
in our country.
    Ms. Norton. Thank you, Mayor Bowser.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mr. Gosar of Arizona 
for five minutes.
    Mr. Gosar. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mayor for 
your attitude. The buck stops with you. Kudos. That is a great 
attitude. Now, a question for you. Are you keeping track of the 
number of children in Washington, DC. who have contracted 
myocarditis as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine?
    Mayor Bowser. I know we track a lot of information, 
Congressman. I am not sure of that specifically.
    Mr. Gosar. Well, I think the reason I take that is 
myocarditis is a very debilitating condition, and I would love 
to know what steps you have taken and how you have ascertained 
those individuals, so we can get special help.
    Mayor Bowser. Sure. We have a very sophisticated system of 
reporting to D.C. Health. And if you do not mind, I will take a 
moment to acknowledge just the heroic efforts of D.C. Health to 
keep Washingtonians and children safe.
    Mr. Gosar. Thank you. Now, in the days preceding January 6, 
2021, did the intelligence that you had access to indicate that 
a large amount of violence would occur that day?
    Mayor Bowser. We have reported all of the information that 
we have been asked for to this Congress related to January 6, 
including any and all intelligence that we were aware of.
    Mr. Gosar. So, did you or your staff had contact with the 
offices of Speaker, the Sergeant at Arms, or any Federal 
enforcement agency about the intelligence indicating potential 
violence on January 6, 2021?
    Mayor Bowser. Sure. I am going to ask Chief Contee to jump 
in. Chief Contee is our lead official and working with Federal 
partners on First Amendment activities in the District.
    Chief Contee. Thank you for the question, sir. Yes. So, 
there were several conversations with law enforcement officials 
from the United States, Capitol Police, House and Senate 
Sergeant at Arms prior to January 6.
    Mr. Gosar. Anything with the Speaker's Office?
    Chief Contee. I had no personal conversations with the 
Speaker's Office. I do know that, and I believe the Architect 
of the Capitol was also involved in those conversations, but I 
do not recall specifically the Speaker's Office being part of 
that conversation, sir.
    Mr. Gosar. Thank you, Chief. Mr. Graves, over 1,000 people 
from January 6, 2021, had been charged with Federal crimes. 
Attorney Graves has said publicly he wants to charge 1,200 
more. Attorney Graves, how many rioters from the summer of 2020 
are you investigating and prosecuting for criminal offenses?
    Mr. Graves. Thank you for the question. So, our office 
prosecutes all acts of violence regardless of political 
motivation. The same, we are prosecuting a number of 
individuals in connections with the incidents of the summer of 
2020.
    Mr. Gosar. Well, let us go through that. So, going back to 
Chief Contee, how many total people were arrested during the 
riots of 2020 in Washington, DC, Chief Contee?
    Mayor Bowser. What are you referring to?
    Mr. Gosar. I want to know how many people were arrested 
during the riots of 2020 here in Washington, DC.
    Mayor Bowser. I am not sure what incidents that you are 
referring to exactly. Are you referring to the instances in 
front of Lafayette Square?
    Mr. Gosar. Well, for example, on June 1, there were 316 
people arrested in just one day. There were 29 for felony riot 
charges on August 1. On August 13 and 14, 2020, 41 people were 
arrested in Washington, DC. for felonies that included rioting, 
arson, and assaults on police officers. That is what I am 
after.
    Mayor Bowser. Got it. Chief, do you have that information?
    Chief Contee. Yes, ma'am. So, between May and June 2020, 
449 people were arrested. Between July and August 2020, 92 
people were arrested. As you indicated, between September and 
October 2020, 41 people were arrested at that time, and then 
between November and December 2020, 73 people were arrested.
    Mr. Gosar. So, Attorney Graves, according to The Washington 
Post, prosecutors dismissed charges on, I guess, almost all of 
those except for a handful of rioters on August 2020. Attorney 
Graves, can you confirm that most of those charges against 
rioters in the summer of 2020 were dropped?
    Mr. Graves. So, I understand the question. The 
complication, of course, is that I was not U.S. Attorney at 
that time.
    Mr. Gosar. It does not matter. I mean, as the Mayor said, 
she accepts full responsibility. So, I mean, you carry the 
purse, you have to accept the responsibility.
    Mr. Graves. Oh, I accept full responsibility for everything 
that the office does under my tenure. My point is only that I 
lack personal knowledge. But my understanding is, yes, the 
office declined a number of the arrests that were presented to 
it under the leadership of the prior administration.
    Mr. Gosar. Well, I am running out of time. So, I will just 
yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The gentlemen yields back. The Chair 
recognizes Mr. Mfume from Maryland for five minutes.
    Mr. Mfume. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mayor Bowser, 
thank you for your testimony. It was succinct and yet very, 
very comprehensive. And although you probably have said much of 
that many times over, it is important for this committee and 
for others who are watching this to hear it. People have this 
twisted idea about what the District of Columbia is, and so any 
time we can set the record straight, I appreciate it, and I 
appreciate your words today. Mr. Graves, thank you also for 
your testimony.
    You know, on December 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party took 
place. It was by and large a protest against taxation without 
representation 250 years ago based on a concept and a principle 
that I think many people still believe in and hopefully will 
follow in the day and the age that we live in. It was not a 
Democratic protest or response. It was not a Republican protest 
or response. It was an American response to an injustice, an 
injustice that 250 years later still plagues our Nation, is 
still a part of the fabric that we are trying to tear away from 
so that everybody's vote counts, every vote will be counted, 
and everybody that lives and pays taxes will have some form of 
representation. The gentlewoman here from the District of 
Columbia, Ms. Norton, has carried that torch and waved that 
banner for many, many years, and continues to do so, because an 
injustice then obviously is still one now.
    I think, in fact, I know that I am the only Member of this 
Committee that voted for D.C. Statehood in 1993, and 28 years 
later, having been returned to Congress, voted for again in 
2021. It was because we believed in it. Congressman Fauntroy, 
who was serving many, many years ago, led these protests that 
so many of us participated in. So, it pains my heart, Madam 
Mayor, that here we go again, as we did a month or so ago, 
trying to, as best we can, make people understand the essence 
of your testimony and the essence of why taxation without 
representation is absolutely wrong.
    Now, in a 2016 referendum, 86 percent of the residents of 
Washington, DC. voted in favor of D.C. Statehood. Collectively, 
as has been noted many, many times, residents here in the 
District of Columbia pay more Federal taxes than 22 other 
states. That is not to be lost or laughed at: more taxes in 
this District than 22 other states. The District of Columbia, 
as a matter of fact, is financially healthy, more than we can 
say about some other cities throughout our Nation.
    Three-quarters of the revenue generated here is generated 
locally. And the District has maintained 24 years of 
consecutive clean audits, which I would challenge anybody to 
find me cities all over the country that are doing that and 
doing it repeatedly. The leadership here, as evidenced by the 
Mayor and others, is competent. People elect who they want. 
That is how we all got here mystically. People elected us. They 
wanted us for a particular time, and when they do not, they 
will get rid of us. So, the leadership here is competent, and 
as we all know, on the January 6 insurrection, it was the 
leadership here that promptly dispatched the Metropolitan 
Police Department to help calm and to restore the order of our 
Nation's capital, even arriving ahead of the National Guard.
    So, I just believe it is very important that whenever we 
can set the record straight, we do it. The undemocratic 
meddling by some Members of this Committee on D.C. matters, and 
their particular interest to try to find a twist or newsworthy 
item or a soundbite does not advance the representation of the 
people here, who live here and who love the District of 
Columbia, and who work, day in and day out, to make it better 
because it is, in fact, the capital of the United States. Thank 
you, Mr. Chairman. I would yield back any remaining time I 
might have.
    Chairman Comer. Thank you, Mr. Mfume. The Chair recognizes 
Mr. Grothman from Wisconsin for five minutes.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. The first question does not mean 
to be insulting. I appreciate, Mayor Bowser, that sometimes you 
had to take on your city council as we deal with the problem of 
crime. And I have often repeated a story in which--I do not go 
abroad much, but about 20 years ago, I was in Taipei, Taiwan. 
And I asked my tour guide, with a friend of mine, if there is 
anywhere in Taipei that we could not go, and to my surprise, 
they said no, everywhere in Taipei is safe. Taipei is bigger 
than Chicago. And I felt kind of a little bit ashamed for a 
second because I knew that if a visitor from Taiwan came to the 
United States, and saw Washington, DC, and asked me if there is 
anywhere that they could not go, I would have had said, yes, 
quite a few places you cannot go in town.
    I appreciate that you have taken on your city council on 
some issues related to crime, which means that given the huge 
crime problem you have, a lot of members of the city council 
keep getting elected but do not agree with you that certain 
action has to be taken. Could you explain why people got 
elected to the Washington, DC. Council? At least on the face of 
it, it does not seem that they are electing people for whom 
preventing crime is a top priority, which I cannot figure out.
    Mayor Bowser. Well, I have learned over the years not to 
question the voters. As Congresswoman and Mfume just said, they 
elect who they want, and my job is to work with who do people 
send, and that is how I have approached my work as Mayor and as 
a member of the council. I do use my position to make sure I am 
educating the public about what we need and what is not 
working.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Thanks. That is OK. They only give me 
five minutes. I want to talk a little bit about your schools. 
You are spending $22,000 per pupil, which is one of the highest 
in the country. If you go down the test scores, only 31 percent 
of your students read at or above grade level. Nineteen percent 
of your students pass grade level in math. If we look at high 
school students alone, only 11 percent are at grade level for 
math.
    By the way, Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit for the 
record this Washington Post article entitled, ``D.C. Math, 
Reading, and Test Scores Fall to Lowest Level in More Than Five 
Years.''
    Chairman Comer. Without objection, so ordered.
    Mr. Grothman. Now, I understand COVID played a role here, 
but all that has passed. Our focus has to be going forward. 
Mayor Bowser, do you believe the D.C. Public Schools is 
properly focused on ensuring kids reach grade-level 
achievement?
    Mayor Bowser. I could not be prouder of the progress that 
we have made in D.C. public schools. In my submitted testimony, 
I include the more than 15-year investment we have made in 
transforming public schools, and we continue----
    Mr. Grothman. Given the test scores, are you really 
satisfied with that?
    Mayor Bowser. I know that as an urban school district, we 
have excelled faster than most in the investments that we 
continue to make. For example, free pre-K for all three-and 
four-year-olds in the District of Columbia is paying dividends. 
The investments that we are making in reimagining high school 
and connecting our high school graduates to advance technical 
training is also paying off.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Sorry to cut you off. They give us five 
minutes. I guess my concern when I see record lows in math and 
reading, it concerns me. Nevertheless, under new standards, we 
see your second graders will analyze the history of same sex 
relationships and gender fluidity in civilizations. In third 
grade, students will be taught the importance of affirming 
spaces. In sixth grade, they are going to be dealing with 
racism. All this type of thing at a time when reading and math 
seems to be a big problem.
    I have a copy of the curriculum here, by the way, I would 
like to submit it for the record.
    Chairman Comer. Without objection, so ordered.
    Mr. Grothman. Thanks.
    Mr. Grothman. Mayor Bowser, does having third grade 
students learn about the importance of affirming spaces improve 
the ability to read at grade level?
    Mayor Bowser. What I know as a D.C. public school parent is 
that I want my child to grow up as an informed world citizen; 
of course, knowing how to read and write, knowing how to enjoy 
all the people of the world and the cultures of the world and 
being able to actively participate in our government. So, I am 
very confident that in our----
    Mr. Grothman. Do you feel that focusing on these, what most 
people call, peripheral issues is good at a time we cannot read 
or do math?
    Mayor Bowser. I think our system of public education where 
we have an elected state board of education that advises on 
policy and curriculum and a public education team that has been 
innovative, and that is why we have seen the results that we 
have seen growing. And certainly, none of us across the country 
were happy to see our kids fall back across the country during 
the COVID years, but we know how stressful they are. But with 
very significant investments from the American Rescue Plan, we 
have been able to focus on high-dose tutoring, improvement 
strategies that will improve our test scores.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Hopefully things will be better off if my 
friends from Taiwan ever visit me here. Thank you.
    Chairman Comer. The gentleman yields back. The Chair 
recognizes the Ranking Member, Mr. Raskin from Maryland, for 
five minutes.
    Mr. Raskin. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Mayor 
Bowser, I want to thank you for immediately deploying the 
Metropolitan Police Department on January 6, 2021, to come and 
defend us against the violent insurrection that took place. You 
sent hundreds of officers who stood shoulder to shoulder with 
the Capitol Police, and we know many of them were injured in 
the process, suffering terrible injuries and were hospitalized 
because of it. And some D.C. police officers came who were not 
even on duty, like Michael Fanone, famously, who came just 
because he heard about it on the news and was nearly killed 
that day. He had to beg for his life. So, thanks to you and, 
Chief, to you and your officers for everything you did to 
defend democracy on that day.
    Now, Mayor Bowser, you did not hesitate to voluntarily 
deploy the Metropolitan Police Department to help us out. And 
you did not hesitate to do it, even though there are people who 
are determined to keep D.C. from achieving its political 
equality within the Union by being admitted to statehood. Why 
did you do that?
    Mayor Bowser. Listen, Congressman, we are proud as to 
support all manners of Federal operations in the District of 
Columbia. We sometimes get reimbursed for it. We sometimes do 
not. And we have seen over the years, those security dollars 
that are available go down and down. There are First Amendment 
activities, and I will ask the Chief to chime in here, almost 
every day where MPD is working hand in hand with Federal 
partners, to include the Park Police and the U.S. Capitol 
Police less because there tend to be fewer demonstrations. But 
they work hand in hand every day to make the city safe, and we 
are going to be there to be supportive of the Federal 
Government whenever called upon.
    Mr. Raskin. Good. Let me pursue this for a second with you. 
Unlike the Metropolitan Police Department, the D.C. National 
Guard was not deployed for several hours after the riots at the 
Capitol began, despite the fact that they were armed and ready 
and just a few blocks away. Why didn't you just deploy the D.C. 
National Guard?
    Mayor Bowser. We requested the D.C. National Guard to 
support our activities in and around the city. And in a 
somewhat unusual response, the Department of the Army limited 
the movements of the Guard to where they could go and required 
us to request through the Army, the Secretary of the Army, any 
changes to their deployment. The D.C. National Guard is 
somewhat of a misnomer because when you are from the states and 
you have the Maryland National Guard, they report to the 
Governor of Maryland or in Florida. They report to the 
government of Florida. The D.C. National Guard may more 
accurately be called the President's guard. The President 
through his designee, the Secretary of the Army, deploys the 
D.C. National Guard.
    Mr. Raskin. Right, and we know that President Trump was 
indifferent and passive for at least three hours before the 
National Guard were finally released. If D.C. were to become a 
state, the Governor, the new executive of the state, would have 
control over the National Guard. But the House of 
Representatives in the last session actually voted not just for 
D.C. Statehood, but also separately in different legislation to 
give the mayor a control over the D.C. National Guard after we 
were just taught this object lesson in what it means to have a 
President who does not have the best interest of the country at 
heart controlling the National Guard. It was blocked in the 
Senate by Republicans. Would you have deployed the Guard 
immediately to the Capitol?
    Mayor Bowser. We certainly would have moved the Guard that 
were already in the District, we think. And I will ask the 
Chief to remind me of the number of guardsmen and women who are 
already deployed who could have gotten here in minutes. Because 
that was not happening, we have facilitated conversations with 
the Department of the Army to make sure that the plea of the 
U.S. Capitol Police Chief was being met.
    Mr. Raskin. Good. I have got one other question for you. 
There has been an effort, I think, to drive a wedge between you 
and the D.C. Council. I cannot think of a mayor in America who 
does not have differences, policy disagreements with his or her 
council, just like Governors and state legislatures and so on. 
Does the Mayor of D.C. and the D.C. Council, do they stand 
united in defense of democratic self-government in D.C. and 
also for the statehood petition?
    Mayor Bowser. Absolutely 100 percent. Members of the 
Council have been supportive of our efforts, the 
Congresswoman's efforts, and, you know, countless, dozens of 
local groups who have advanced D.C. Statehood.
    Mr. Raskin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The gentleman yields back. The Chair 
recognizes Mr. Higgins from Louisiana for five minutes.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mayor Bowser, you 
have just testified regarding your specific role, your personal 
role in the days leading up to January 6 and the D.C. National 
Guard. Is your counsel council present, ma'am?
    Mayor Bowser. No.
    Mr. Higgins. Do you wish to amend your testimony in any way 
regarding what you stated today?
    Mayor Bowser. I do not.
    Mr. Higgins. Well, Mayor Bowser, you are the Mayor of 
Washington, DC, correct?
    Mayor Bowser. I am.
    Mr. Higgins. And Washington, DC. is the capital of the 
United States of America, correct?
    Mayor Bowser. It is.
    Mr. Higgins. The capital is the home of the entire seat of 
our government, the executive branch, the legislative branch, 
the judicial branch. The President is here. The Vice President 
is here, 435 congressional offices, 100 Senate offices. The 
Supreme Court, all departments of the government are 
headquartered here. All agencies are headquartered here. In 
your knowledge--you are a very intelligent American, you have a 
clear understanding of history--in your knowledge, ma'am, is 
there any other municipality in the United States that has 
access to our seat of government as the citizens of Washington, 
DC.?
    Mayor Bowser. Actually, they all have more access because 
they have voting Members of Congress and senators.
    Mr. Higgins. I will ask you to give straightforward answers 
to my questions. So, let us go there, you and I. Are you 
familiar with the conversations, debates, and discussions that 
our founders engaged in regarding what significant role the 
Nation's capital would play once developed and populated, and 
their personal access to the seat of government? Is there any 
other citizen anywhere across the country that can communicate 
with every Congressman, every senator, the President, the Vice 
President, the entire seat of government, by having a sign in 
their yard or by just inhabiting that city? Is there any other 
city in the country where you are going to just bump into 
potentially hundreds of Congressmen and a hundred senators at 
any given restaurant or grocery store? Is there any 
municipality in the country that offers that level of personal 
access to the seat of government of these United States?
    Mayor Bowser. Congressman, I have already explained that I 
am born and raised here, and I have spent most of my life here. 
I have been serving in elective office for 15 years----
    Mr. Higgins. When you were going up, did you bump into 
government officials?
    Mayor Bowser. Let me just finish, Congressman.
    Mr. Higgins. I am reclaiming my time, young lady.
    Mayor Bowser. I have never been to an event where I 
happened to bump into a hundred senators.
    [Disturbance in hearing room.]
    Chairman Comer. And I will remind the crowd that clapping 
is a disruption, so the Chair recognizes Mr. Higgins for five 
minutes.
    Mr. Higgins. Congratulations for not having bumped into 
hundred senators at one time. That would be horrific. But in 
the course of your life growing up here----
    Mayor Bowser. Yes.
    Mr. Higgins [continuing]. You had opportunity to have 
personal interactions with the entire seat of the U.S. 
Government as a resident of D.C., that a resident of, say, 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, or Phoenix, or any other municipality 
did not have. Now, the founders did discuss this heavily. And I 
ask you, very respectfully, are you are you familiar with those 
discussions and the significance with which the founders placed 
the status of our Nation's capital?
    Mayor Bowser. I know that the founders were very concerned 
about being surrounded by jurisdictions that might overtake the 
seat of the government.
    Mr. Higgins. Do you share that concern?
    Mayor Bowser. Absolutely not because what we have seen is 
the Federal Government grow in size and scope that threatens to 
overtake us, and we saw it. We witnessed the Federal Government 
trample----
    Mr. Higgins. I will ask one final question.
    Mayor Bowser.[continuing] Our autonomy and our safety.
    Mr. Higgins. I will ask one final question, ma'am. Is it OK 
with you that the United States of America has a capital city?
    Mayor Bowser. Absolutely. And if you are familiar, sir, and 
I am happy to share with your office the bill that our 
Congresswoman advanced to admit Washington, DC. as the 51st 
state----
    Mr. Higgins. Yes, ma'am. I voted no and shall vote no 
again. Mr. Chairman, my time has expired, and I yield.
    Chairman Comer. The gentleman yields back. The Chair 
recognizes Ms. Brown from Ohio for five minutes.
    Ms. Brown. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mayor 
Bowser, and all our witnesses for appearing today. And I 
apologize, Mayor Bowser, that you have to sit through one more 
attempt by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to 
undermine the democratic rights of the District of Columbia and 
its citizens. As I said in our last hearing on D.C. 
Congressional interference in D.C.'s local affairs is not an 
obligation or a legal requirement. It is a choice by the 
Majority, and it remains a bad one. Instead of working toward 
solutions on behalf of the American people, like combating 
poverty, addressing out-of-control gun violence, and lowering 
the cost of healthcare, Republicans are spending our precious 
time critiquing every local decision of the D.C. government, 
which happens to represent a majority Black and Brown city.
    So, Mayor Bowser, what are the ramifications for American 
democracy if statehood for D.C. is not implemented?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, I think we continue, quite frankly, to 
look like hypocrites around the world. We are the only, you 
know, free Nation that does not allow the citizens of its 
capital to be represented in its capital. I think what we 
continue to see happen is not all of the viewpoints of American 
citizens fully represented in this body. And I think, sadly, we 
also run the risk of parts of the Federal apparatus really 
imposing, in negative ways, on free, taxpaying Americans in 
Washington, DC.
    Ms. Brown. Thank you. And, Mayor Bowser, why does 
congressional review of local D.C. policies not make sense in 
your view?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, it does not make sense because I am 
kind of looking around the room and I count two people who are 
elected to represent us: me and Congresswoman Norton. So, we 
are the ones who are out on blocks and community meetings and 
church basements talking to people about what they want to see 
happen in their city. And the last time I checked, most people 
here think that government closest to the people is the best 
government for the people. And so that is why it does not make 
sense for anybody from around the country to purport to care 
more about our issues than we do.
    Ms. Brown. Thank you. And last, if you could answer 
briefly, Mayor Bowser, how is D.C. held back by its inability 
to self-govern like any other state?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, one thing, and the Chairman mentioned 
that, I know he mentioned in his conversation with the council 
members concerned about District finances. And I have had the 
privilege of presiding over the District achieving a triple-A 
bond rating. And when I have those meetings with rating 
agencies, they see a risk to the District, not of my leadership 
or my policies or even those of the D.C. Council, but they see 
as a risk is what the Congress might on a whim do to us that 
would affect our finances.
    Ms. Brown. Well, thank you for that, and you should be 
applauded for the work that you have done. This country has 
never fully lived up to its founding principles of democracy, 
freedom, and equality for all. Today, in so many ways, 
represents that, and we are seeing yet another instance of that 
failure. D.C. residents are no different than residents of any 
other place in this country. They pay taxes, they go to school, 
and they work. And yet, unlike those living outside the 
District lines, this pocket of over 700,000 people, a plurality 
of whom are Black, are not given full democratic rights under 
the law. They do not have one person, one vote. They do not 
have a full say in their own future or the choices and policy 
of their government.
    In 2023, that is not just a shame, it is a total disgrace. 
In 2023, it is not just a shame, it is a total disgrace. The 
United States is the only democracy, as stated by Mayor Bowser, 
that denies the residents of its capital voting representation 
in the national legislature. We, in Congress, have the 
obligation to finally extend statehood to the residents of 
D.C., not the obligation to question every decision of the 
local D.C. government. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield 
back.
    Chairman Comer. The gentlelady yields. The Chair recognizes 
Mr. Biggs from Arizona for five minutes.
    Mr. Biggs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you for holding 
the hearing and I thank our witnesses for being here today. 
And, Mayor Bowser, you and I may disagree on a lot of things, 
but I agree with you at least on one thing that you said so 
eloquently, when you said that you have watched the Federal 
Government grow and just threaten to take over you. As a 
resident of Arizona, I feel the same way. As I watch the 
Federal Government grow, I feel it encroaches on almost every 
aspect of every American's life. And so, with that, I got to 
tell you I agree with that sentiment entirely.
    And I also agree that the government closest to the people 
is the best government. And I also would tell you that I think 
that the founders intended for the Federal Government to be 
very small. That is why they enumerated the powers and said 
this is your powers. You are limited to this, this is all you 
can do, and everything else is supposed to go back to the 
states.
    I did want to ask you this, though. I think on August 4 and 
August 11 of last year, you requested that the National Guard 
help with the migrant crisis in Washington, DC, and that the 
Pentagon denied those requests saying that that would diminish 
readiness, or something to that effect. Is that accurate? I 
mean, that is what I remember reading, and I am just wondering 
if that was accurate.
    Mayor Bowser. We were not granted use of the National Guard 
to assist us with logistics related to buses being sent from 
Arizona and from Texas to Washington, DC. You will know that we 
are not a border city, so we do not have an infrastructure to 
support those types of movements. It does, however, raise the 
question of how, if we had control of our own National Guard, 
we can ensure the readiness of those guard troops in 
facilities, in training, and recruitment.
    Mr. Biggs. So, I just want to make clear. You did make the 
request, and it was denied?
    Mayor Bowser. That is correct.
    Mr. Biggs. OK. Thank you so much. And now I want to go to 
you, Mr. Graves, and we have talked about this, that your 
office has declined to prosecute 67 percent of arrests last 
year, and you have given us the rationale in some respect. The 
Washington Post reported that you have one the highest, if not 
the highest, declination rates in the country, that that rate 
last year was double the declination rate of the same office in 
2015. And in that article, it was two things that you focused 
on, is the crime lab had remained unaccredited, and I 
understand that, and you said the police--well, ostensibly, I 
do not know--they do not have a direct quote. But they said 
that the police body camera footage was subjecting arrests to 
more scrutiny, which implies that somehow the police are 
responsible for mishandling evidence or something like that, 
which was one of the rationales for your declinations. Do you 
stand by that?
    Mr. Graves. So, thank you for the question and the 
opportunity to clarify the quotation or provide context for it. 
We have no greater partner than the Metropolitan Police 
Department. My comment was in no way critical of them. They, 
and particularly the Chief, have been an amazing ally.
    Mr. Biggs. The Department of Forensic Sciences, is that the 
only crime lab available to you, to the U.S. Attorney's Office?
    Mr. Graves. So that is a very good question. There are, of 
course, other options, other both private and public labs out 
there that can provide the services that the Department of 
Forensic Sciences was providing. The way, going back to the 
Mayor's term, the complicated soup was set up when it lost 
accreditation in May 2021, was the system was built on 
everything going to the Department of Forensic Science----
    Mr. Biggs. So, I guess that is the long way of admitting 
that there are other labs that you can go to. So, thank you for 
that. I want to ask about a specific January 6 defendant, a guy 
named Thomas Caldwell, a decorated disabled Navy veteran. No 
criminal history. Seventy years old. Not charged with any 
violent crime on January 6. In fact, he never entered the 
Capitol Building. But you added a seditious conspiracy charge 
to his case after you took office, enhancing the charges that 
had already been filed against him. He was convicted ultimately 
of one obstruction count and one with tampering with evidence. 
He is 70 years old. You are seeking 14 years in prison. I guess 
my question is, does not it seem like a death sentence to Mr. 
Caldwell who did not commit a crime of violence that day?
    Mr. Graves. So, I understand the desire to know more about 
the case. That is obviously an active ongoing investigation, 
and my ethical rules and department guidance precluding----
    Mr. Biggs. He was convicted. You are getting ready for 
sentencing. You can answer the question with regard to why you 
wanted to go to sentencing. It is not an investigation. It is 
not ongoing. He has been convicted of two crimes. I need to 
know why.
    Mr. Graves. So, I understand your desire to know. As you 
said in the predicate to your question, he is pending 
sentencing. It would be wholly inappropriate for me in a public 
forum to weigh in on why I think that is an appropriate 
sentence.
    Mr. Biggs. My time has expired. Thanks.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mr. Frost from Florida 
for five minutes.
    Mr. Frost. Thank you, Mr. Chair. In a true democracy, the 
people hold the power, and it is up to the people and their 
local communities to come together and make laws that fit their 
everyday reality. And what I am describing is local control, 
and local control is the bedrock of liberty. And naturally, 
when I see outright attacks on local governments for 
implementing policies that their constituents want, need, and 
voted for, I see that as an attack not just on the elected 
officials, but on the constituents of that area.
    And so there are Republican lawmakers in this chamber on 
this Committee that are determined to undermine local 
government when the policies do not serve them. This is very 
true and something that I recognize all the time in my district 
of Central Florida that is constantly under attack by the 
Florida state legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis. And so, I 
know all about Republican lawmakers that have the same agenda, 
using fear, intimidation, and ultimately trying to use their 
action to stifle local government and to stifle democracy. 
Republican lawmakers want to talk about public safety with a 
straight face while refusing to do anything about gun violence 
in this country. Republicans want to talk with a straight face 
about protecting students in schools without doing anything to 
change the fact that the leading cause of death in this country 
for a kid is to be shot to death. Ron DeSantis then failed to 
secure funds to implement laws that Floridians want like red 
flag laws, extreme risk protection orders, because of a 
complete disregard of what local communities want and because 
of sheer incompetence.
    The intent of the D.C. Home Rule Act was to ``grant the 
inhabitants of the District of Columbia powers of self-
government.'' Not only that, but D.C. has an elected chief 
executive, the Mayor; and an elected legislature, the D.C. City 
Council. And if D.C. residents do not like how their elected 
representatives govern, guess what? They can vote them out of 
office. Mayor Bowser, you have served on both the D.C. Council 
and as a Mayor. How many times were you elected to the council, 
and how many times have you been elected as Mayor?
    Mayor Bowser. I was elected three times. I served almost 
eight years as a council member, and I am starting my ninth 
year as Mayor. Three times.
    Mr. Frost. The U.S. Congress has 535 voting members. D.C. 
residents cannot vote for a single one of those voting members 
out of office. In 1995, then Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich 
said the following about D.C.: ``We should not interfere 
directly with home rule. Those of us who visit and who come 
here only for the purpose of representing our communities do 
not have the knowledge and do not have the right to micromanage 
the daily lives of the people of this city.'' It is interesting 
and wild how times can change for a party. Mayor Bowser, do 
congressional Republicans have more knowledge about D.C. than 
you and the members of the D.C. City Council?
    Mayor Bowser. No.
    Mr. Frost. Mayor Bowser, have any Republicans on this 
Committee gone out and knocked doors with you in the community 
to learn about Washington, DC.?
    Mayor Bowser. No.
    Mr. Frost. Are you aware of any Republicans on this 
Committee that have gone to knock doors with any members of the 
city council to learn more about Washington, DC.?
    Mayor Bowser. I am not aware.
    Mr. Frost. Are you aware of any Republicans on this 
Committee that have gone to any town halls with you or any 
roundtables to learn about the District of Columbia?
    Mayor Bowser. No.
    Mr. Frost. The fact that they pretend that they know how to 
govern D.C. better than you all is patronizing. And as I have 
said before, I do not agree with every local policy out there, 
but I respect certain decisions made under home rule. And that 
Republicans are so preoccupied with trying to govern D.C., it 
makes you wonder who they are really trying to represent. I 
urge my colleagues to support statehood for the nearly 700,000 
D.C. residents. I thank you all for your time. And I apologize 
that you have to waste your time at a hearing like this, 
especially on your daughter's birthday. We say happy birthday 
to your daughter, and I yield back.
    Mr. Connolly. Would you yield to me, Mr. Frost?
    Mr. Frost. Yes, I yield to Mr. Connolly.
    Mr. Connolly. I thank my friend. You know, I have been in 
office 29 years. I have won 15 elections, and I have always run 
on D.C. voting rights----
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you.
    Mr. Connolly [continuing]. And now D.C. Statehood. And I 
can tell you that at least in my district in Northern Virginia, 
we fully support the autonomy of D.C., and we fully oppose 
undue intervention by this Congress in the affairs of D.C. It 
is not a matter of whether I agree with you or not. That is 
none of my business. I get to have that opinion, but I do not 
get to interfere in your right to self-jurisdiction and self-
governance. By the way, Ms. Bowser, you were asked by the 
gentleman from Louisiana were you familiar with the founders 
when they were writing the Constitution. Did D.C. exist when 
the Constitution was written?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, as you know----
    Mr. Connolly. Real quick. You got to be quick. Yes or no? 
No?
    Mayor Bowser. No, it did not.
    Mr. Connolly. Had they even decided on where the capital 
ought to be?
    Mayor Bowser. No.
    Mr. Connolly. No. So, they had no way of knowing when they 
wrote the Constitution or even fantasizing about what the 
ultimate national capital might look like, and I think we have 
to take that into account in the 21st century. You know, the 
Constitution was a living document. The founders could not see 
infinitely in the future. And I think most of them, starting 
with James Madison, would be horrified at the current state of 
relations between this Congress and the American people in the 
District of Columbia. I thank my friend for yielding.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mr. LaTurner from 
Kansas for five minutes.
    Mr. LaTurner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for 
being here today. This hearing comes as our Nation celebrates 
National Police Week, a chance to thank and honor the men and 
women who put their lives on the line every day to protect us 
and our communities despite increasingly dangerous conditions 
and surging crime rates in cities across America. According to 
FBI crime statistics, amongst the 20 cities with the highest 
incident rates of violent crime per capita, 17 are led by 
Democrat mayors. My colleagues may not like it, but Democrat 
policies regarding law and order inevitably lead to lawlessness 
and social discord. I said this at our last hearing on our 
capital, but it is worth repeating.
    Maintaining public order and safety are a fundamental 
responsibility of government. Establishing justice and ensuring 
domestic tranquility are mandates our founding fathers wrote 
into the first line of our Constitution. Recidivism rates in 
America are amongst the highest in the world. Almost 44 percent 
of criminals released from prison return within a year, which 
is why I was mortified to learn Mr. Graves declined to 
prosecute 67 percent of arrests in Washington, DC. last year. 
That is an astronomically high figure. Just seven years ago, 
that number was 35 percent. And for context, Chicago, which is 
grappling with a well-documented crime wave of their own, 
declined only 14 percent of cases last year. We simply cannot 
combat hardened criminals with prosecutorial pacifism.
    Madam Mayor, juvenile arrests for carjacking rose 
precipitously beginning in 2020 when COVID lockdowns closed 
schools. Would you agree that the D.C. Government's decision to 
keep youth out of schools for a prolonged period of time led to 
an increase in juvenile crime?
    Mayor Bowser. I cannot directly link closing schools to 
juvenile crime. I do suspect that a whole ecosystem of 
disrupted services affected youth in the----
    Mr. LaTurner. Do you think closing the schools contributed 
to the increase in juvenile crime?
    Mayor Bowser. I think a lot contributes to crime, and we do 
not always know what causes crime to go up. But our approach 
has always been to throw all of our resources at an issue, 
including having our kids to be the first in the region back in 
their public schools with their teachers in the facilities that 
are best able to serve them.
    Mr. LaTurner. Please describe, Madam Mayor, the state of 
police morale in D.C. over the past few years. How have 
Councilman Allen and others contributed to the state of the 
police morale? Would you say that the council's emergency 
police reform is contributing to the growing violence in D.C.?
    Mayor Bowser. I have the police chief here, and I work 
every day to make sure that our police know that they are 
supported. You are not going to find a bigger supporter of the 
Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. than me. I 
also know that policing is a tough profession, and making sure 
that we have the right policy environment to support our police 
is also one of my big jobs. Part of that will be introducing 
legislation that when police make arrests, they can have some 
certainty. That work is going to be respected throughout our 
public safety ecosystem. It is also going to let us get back on 
track to get to 4,000 officers, and it is also going to make it 
possible for me to recruit the next great police chief of the 
Metropolitan Police Department.
    Mr. LaTurner. So, I take it from your statement that you 
were very critical of Mr. Graves' decision to decline the 
prosecution of 67 percent of arrests. Is that accurate?
    Mayor Bowser. I want to make sure that all of the work of 
our Metropolitan Police, all of the bravery of people who come 
forward as witnesses, is carefully considered as cases move 
through the criminal justice system.
    Mr. LaTurner. Mr. Graves, you heard it. That sounds like 
very carefully worded criticism, but criticism, nonetheless. 
For you, Mr. Graves. Chief Contee postulates that the average 
homicide suspect has been arrested 11 times prior to committing 
homicide. We are 136 days into 2023, and there have already 
been 80 homicides in D.C. this year. That is five more than all 
of 2022 and on pace for approximately 215 homicides in 2023. 
Mr. Graves, your policies are directly endangering the public. 
In how many instances have you declined to prosecute someone 
who was eventually charged with homicide?
    Mr. Graves. So, thank you for the question. As a career 
prosecutor, nothing is of greater concern to me than community 
safety.
    Mr. LaTurner. Mr. Graves, I appreciate that, and I 
appreciate you thanking me for the question. I would love to 
thank you for a direct answer. How many have ended in a 
homicide that you did not prosecute?
    Mr. Graves. So, the statistic you cite of 67 percent is a 
snapshot in time of what the office looked like when I came 
into the role. From day one, actually, before day one, I sat 
down with Chief Contee----
    Mr. LaTurner. Mr. Graves, do not quibble with that 
statistic. Just answer this direct question. In how many 
instances have you declined to prosecute someone who was 
eventually charged with homicide?
    Mr. Graves. So, I would have to check with my team to get 
back to you, but sitting here today, I am not aware of an 
instance.
    Mr. LaTurner. You do not know that for a fact? That is not 
something that you would----
    Mr. Graves. Of the 15,000 arrests that occurred last year, 
I would like to check before confirming on the record.
    Mr. LaTurner. Well, I am talking about those that commit 
homicide. I would assume that you would keep some sort of 
record of what their interaction with the police have been and 
what your interaction with your office has been with those 
individuals.
    Mr. Graves. So, what I can tell you is we are tracking the 
recidivism rates of individuals that we charged versus 
individuals that we did not charge in 2022. And what we have 
actually seen is that the recidivism rate is actually slightly 
higher for the individuals we charged than the individuals we 
did not charge.
    Mr. LaTurner. I am out of time. I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Ms. Balint from 
Vermont for five minutes.
    Ms. Balint. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you all 
for being here. Before I get started with my line of 
questioning, I just want to say, a lot has been made about the 
drop in achievement of D.C. students. And I just want to tether 
us back to some context and reality, which is the pandemic and 
the ongoing trauma from the pandemic caused scores to drop for 
every single racial, economic, and demographic student subgroup 
across the Nation. This is not particular to the District of 
Columbia.
    Now, Madam Mayor, thank you for being here. I am sorry you 
have to be here, but I appreciate your time. Now, congressional 
interference in D.C.'s local affairs and the denial of 
statehood have very real consequences for D.C. residents. 
Already this year, as you know, Congress has exercised its 
ability to overrule laws enacted by the D.C. Council, which is 
democratically elected by D.C.'s over 700,000 residents.
    Now D.C.'s lack of statehood has real financial 
consequences as well. In the early days of the coronavirus 
pandemic when Congress passed the CARES Act and gave each state 
a minimum of $1.25 billion in fiscal relief, D.C. received only 
$495 million even though it pays full Federal taxes and has a 
larger population than two states, including the state that I 
am proud to represent, Vermont. It took a full year for D.C. to 
finally receive its fair share, and that only occurred after 
Democrats took control of Congress and retroactively secured 
the $755 million for D.C. in the American Rescue Plan, 
obviously completely and totally unfair, and tied your hands 
behind your back in terms of giving your residents the support 
that they needed.
    Now, as part of congressional Republicans' efforts to enact 
a nationwide abortion ban, Congress has long prohibited D.C. 
from spending funds raised from D.C. taxpayers on abortion. The 
prohibition was lifted in 2009. But the day the ban was re-
imposed in 2011, at least 28 women on Medicaid who were 
scheduled to have abortions were told their health insurance no 
longer covered the procedure. To this day, women in D.C. who 
are covered by Medicare are denied coverage for abortion. Mayor 
Bowser, 90 percent of the D.C. residents enrolled in Medicaid 
are people of color. What impact does this have on the women of 
D.C. who would like to have full healthcare options available 
to them?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, you outlined just another glaring 
indignity that we suffer, that our locally raised moneys from 
our tax dollars, our residents who pay income taxes and 
property taxes, our businesses who pay income taxes and 
property taxes that support our local budget, we are denied how 
we use that budget. And we know that that can have tremendous 
impacts on people along the economic income band.
    So, why is it that a person of means has greater access to 
healthcare choices than a person who is on Medicaid? It is not 
fair, and it is something that should change. It is not the 
only thing, however. Currently, we cannot tax and regulate 
cannabis, for example, which we do think has a public safety 
impact. The men and women of the police department are battling 
gray market on cannabis sales daily, that, if we had a tax of 
regulate system, we could implement a more safe system.
    Ms. Balint. And Mayor Bowser, what do you think would 
happen if Republicans continue to push their national abortion 
ban and continue to push their interference in the District of 
Columbia? What do you think that would do on rights of your 
citizens that you represent here in terms of them getting the 
healthcare that they need and deserve?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, I hope what it will do is wake up women 
around our country, especially women in the suburbs. I think we 
have already seen evidence of this in suburbs around American 
cities, who may be conservative, but they do not like the idea 
of their daughter having less rights than they have. And so, 
they are going to elect people that respect the bodily autonomy 
of American women, and I actually think this is the link to 
D.C. residents. When that happens, we will advance the cause of 
statehood.
    Ms. Balint. I agree. Congress has no business getting in 
between women and their doctors and no business wasting your 
time. Thank you for being here. I yield back.
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mr. Timmons from South 
Carolina for five minutes.
    Mr. Timmons. Thank you, Chairman. I went to undergrad at 
GW. I lived at 15th and I, McPherson Square, 2003 to 2007. I 
lived in Chinatown from 2010 to 2011, and I have been in D.C., 
mostly the Navy Yard, Capitol Hill area, since 2018. This is 
the least safe it has ever been. Law enforcement seems to have 
the lowest morale judging by a number of factors. And I want to 
help solve this problem. I want this city to be the beacon that 
it should be for the world. I want people to come here and be 
impressed and think that the best days are ahead for the United 
States. I do not feel that they feel that way when they come 
here now. And when my constituents come to D.C., I warn them of 
things that they should and should not do, and that should not 
be the case. So, we need to do something, and I want to help.
    After our last hearing that we had, Councilman Allen was 
kind enough to come and sit with me and Congressman Armstrong 
in my office just last week. We had a great conversation. I 
have identified four areas that I think that we need to address 
as a group. Congress has two of them, D.C. has two of them. I 
am going to address the D.C. components, and Congressman 
Armstrong is going to follow up later with the structural 
reforms and the financial support that Congress can offer.
    So, the two D.C. components are, one, criminal code and 
bail reform, and two, anti-vagrancy laws, so let us start with 
anti-vagrancy laws. There are 5,000 people that are currently 
homeless in D.C., experiencing homelessness, and we need to 
help them. We need to help them get back on their feet. We need 
to find a way to get them food, shelter, mental health 
services, job opportunities so they are not living under 395. 
They are not living in Georgetown under the Whitehurst Freeway. 
I mean, I realize that steps have been taken, but they have 
been insufficient, in my view, and we need to make sure that 
there are no homeless people in D.C. and that they transition 
to opportunities as quickly as possible, and I am going to send 
this to the Mayor shortly.
    The next thing is the criminal code and bail reform. We 
need to send a message to the people that live and visit 
Washington, DC. that the criminal code is fair, but if you are 
a repeat offender, it is harsh because we need to have a 
deterrent threat. And bail reform. We cannot have repeat 
offenders that continue to commit crimes, get out, and then 
commit worse crimes, and I am not going to go through all the 
different things. I think that there needs to be a tiered 
structure that would allow fairness. If somebody does 
something, makes a mistake, we need to help them get back on 
their feet. But there are bad people in the world, and we need 
to separate them from society, so I think that the criminal 
code and bail reform is a part of this.
    So, I guess let us start with the homelessness issue. Mayor 
Bowser, do you agree that we can do more? And if Congress comes 
to the table to help change some structural issues and give 
some financial support, can we address this in a more 
meaningful way?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, thank you for your concern about our 
residents who are experiencing homelessness. Some of them are 
native to Washington, DC. Some of them come to Washington, DC. 
because we are the capital and the seat of government. I have 
been proud over my eight years as mayor to have a comprehensive 
approach to doing that. You will see that we have driven down 
family homelessness by more than 70 percent.
    Mr. Timmons. Do you agree that we have a major, major 
problem in Washington, DC. as it relates to homelessness?
    Mayor Bowser. We have 221 people as of today's count who 
are living on the street. Those are the people that you were 
referring to.
    Mr. Timmons. Councilman Allen gave me the 5,000 number. He 
sent me a report that----
    Mayor Bowser. There are not 5,000 people living on the 
streets, sir. Those may be people that are----
    Mr. Timmons. There are 221 people living under 395. We can 
go right now. It is 300 yards away. What are you talking about?
    Mayor Bowser. I am talking about facts, and there are not 
300 people under 295 or 395. We have outreach teams that are 
out and across all eight wards, and we actually know----
    Mr. Timmons. All right. Let us move on to the criminal 
code. Do you think that we can----
    Mayor Bowser. I mean, those are the facts.
    Mr. Timmons. Your own councilman sent me a report saying 
5,000 people were homeless in D.C. OK. Look, we are going to 
move on. Criminal code, bail reform. If Congress comes to the 
table and gives you all additional accountability and 
additional jurisdiction as well as additional resources, 
whether it is a new prison, whether it is a homeless 
rehabilitation center, increased funding for law enforcement, 
prosecution, whatever you need to fix this problem, can council 
come to the table in a more serious manner, address the 
criminal code and bail, to make sure that the people feel that 
they cannot commit crimes and get off and not be prosecuted?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, we understand that the council's 
Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary will take up the 
criminal code revision in the coming months, and we stand ready 
to assist them with that work. You may have heard----
    Mr. Timmons. I am running out of time. I am sorry. 
Congressman Armstrong is going to follow up, but we are here to 
help. We are willing to provide additional jurisdiction, 
accountability, structural reforms, perhaps some financial 
support to address some of your challenges. I just hope that we 
can find a way to make this place the city that we all know it 
should be. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Mayor Bowser. We will take you up on your offer to assist. 
While we have a plan to replace our D.C. jail, we expect our 
capital dollars to be more constrained in the coming years, and 
we would happily work with you on an appropriation.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Ms. Lee from 
Pennsylvania for five minutes.
    Ms. Lee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our country's founders 
believed that taxation without representation was tyrannical. 
It has been stated the United States is the only democratic 
country that denies voting representation on the national level 
to the residents of the capital. I am sure it is no coincidence 
that those residents that our colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle are seeking to oversee without representation are 
over 45 percent Black. This tenet of no taxation without 
representation helped launch the American Revolution as 
enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. Yet, Congress 
requires that nearly 700,000 D.C. residents to pay all Federal 
taxes but denies them a vote of representation in Congress.
    Mayor Bowser, do you think not having two senators to 
represent D.C. has impacted Federal funding and policies?
    Mayor Bowser. Absolutely. Your colleague just mentioned one 
very specific thing that happened during our response to COVID 
where we were unexplainably grouped in as a territory for the 
purposes of the CARES Act, which none of us know how that 
happened or if it has ever happened previously. So that is one 
such way.
    I also think not having two senators for the District 
impacts this region--Maryland, D.C., and Virginia--over 4 
million people making up this DMV region with two senators when 
we should have six senators. And we know how important that 
will be in regional discussions, for example, like, how we are 
going to fund Washington Union Station. It is going to be a 
spectacular renovation. It costs $8 billion. How we deal with 
the fiscal cliff that we know is coming toward our Transit 
Authority, which serves the District, Maryland, and Virginia. 
And by the way, other transit authorities around the country 
are going to be coming to the Congress, too. That is almost a 
billion dollars. So, we know having six senators represent this 
more than 4-million-person region is representative democracy.
    Ms. Lee. Absolutely. Thank you so much for those examples. 
D.C. pays more Federal taxes per capita than any state, and 
overall, D.C. pays more Federal taxes than 19 states. The last 
two states to enter the Union, Alaska and Hawaii, combined pay 
half the Federal taxes D.C. pays. Alabama, Kansas, and North 
Dakota, which are all represented by Republicans on this 
Committee, each pays less in Federal taxes than D.C. On a per 
capita basis, D.C. pays five times the Federal taxes of 
Chairman Comer's home state of Kentucky.
    Mayor Bowser, as a fifth generation Washingtonian yourself 
and the elected Mayor of the nearly 700,000 D.C. residents, 
what do you hear from your constituents about being taxed 
without voting representation in Congress?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, I will tell you, Congresswoman, it is 
changing. I mean, we have always been proud to pay our fair 
share. You just outlined how we actually pay more. We give more 
to the Federal Government than we get back. Frequently, some 
people think we are an agency of the Federal Government. Some 
people think that everything that we have has been paid by 
Federal tax dollars, and that could not be worse than the 
truth. People have started to say to me, Mayor, why are we 
paying taxes? Why do not we withhold our taxes and see what 
happens?
    And so, I think that we are proud Americans. We are proud 
to host the Federal Government and to pay our fair share, but 
enough is enough. Our Congresswoman should be able to vote for 
us. Just look at all of the things that she has been able to 
accomplish for the District: taking advantage of Federal lands, 
creating jobs, turning underutilized park space into active 
spaces. And we know that we could do so much more with the 
votes that our American citizenship should guarantee.
    Ms. Lee. Thank you. D.C. residents have been petitioning 
for voting representation in Congress for over 200 years. But 
instead of acting on that, this Republican-led Congress has 
taken every chance to strike down the will of the people and 
encroach on their ability to self-govern. The people and the 
residents of D.C. do not want to be able to sightsee Congress 
people and senators in restaurants and bars. They do not want 
to see you all driving by and blocking traffic in your black 
Suburbans. They want their own representation.
    Taxation without representation is as wrong today as it was 
in 1776, yet this shameful practice is alive and well in our 
Nation's capital. Since day one, the heart of this issue had 
been impeding Black political power. Let us just say it. When 
D.C. becomes a state, it will have the highest proportion of 
Black residents of any state. We need to affirm their right to 
self-determination. Admitting D.C. into the Union will right 
this wrong. I yield back.
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you.
    Chairman Comer. The gentlelady yields. The Chair recognizes 
Mr. Armstrong from North Dakota for five minutes.
    Mr. Armstrong. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. D.C. is unique. The 
U.S. Attorney's Office here is unique. With the exception of 
some Indian reservations that exist across the country, this is 
one of the only places where you have primary prosecutorial 
authority. I appreciate what Mayor Bowser said about the jail. 
I think we should look at some different things. I am going to 
get to BOP here in a second. But just for Mr. Graves, what 
structural disadvantages do you have in dealing with the 
primary prosecutorial aspect of the U.S. Attorney's Office that 
we can work on?
    Mr. Graves. This is a really important point, and I 
appreciate the question, and I think the Mayor very eloquently 
laid out the complicated soup that she referenced. I mean, some 
of the services provided in the criminal justice ecosystem come 
from the Federal Government, some come from the state side, and 
we have to interact together and make it work because we have 
no choice but to make it work because that is the current 
system.
    Mr. Armstrong. I mean, if it is a resource issue, if we 
need more prosecutors, I mean, we need those types of issues 
set up, we are willing to do that. I will go to the BOP for a 
second, because I think it is unique and I think it is 
important.
    Anybody who gets sentenced to a year in D.C. goes into the 
Bureau of Prisons. Mayor Bowser, in your opening statement, you 
said you are seeing a rise in repeat offenders. One of the 
things we have learned, it does not matter if it is a 
conservative state like North Dakota, a Democratic state like 
New Jersey. I am the co-chair of the Second Chance Task Force. 
It is very unique when you get out of prison and you get out of 
the Bureau of Prisons because once you go into the Bureau of 
Prisons, you are sent anywhere.
    We have learned how to do this in other places. The last 
six months of your sentence, it could be a seven-year sentence, 
it could be an 18-month sentence, it could be a 10-year 
sentence, if we do it right and deal with services and 
transition and dealing with those issues, you can put people 
coming out of custody in the best chance to succeed and the 
least chance of recidivism. We know we need a new jail here. 
Anybody who thinks we do not, should go--outside of everything 
else. But I think we should also take this opportunity to start 
looking at some things that, quite honestly, states do better 
than the Federal Government. Particularly for nonviolent felony 
offenses, the data will show the closer you are to your family 
and your community, the better chance you have of not having 
recidivism, and I think we should address some of those things.
    But I do think we should start having conversations if we 
are going to resource the jail, if we are going to rebuild it. 
We should also start talking about potentially putting in a 
program where wherever they are at--they can be at the work 
farm in Duluth--but if they are getting back out, the current 
model of BOP prisons where you just put them on a bus and send 
them loose, is not fair to the victims if it is a victim crime, 
is not fair to the community where they are coming back from, 
and it is set up for failure instead of success. So, I think we 
have opportunities here to do some things in a different way. 
And I am thinking, just outside of all the differences and 
disconnects that we have between Democrats and Republicans, 
maybe even sitting on this table, that we have an opportunity 
to do some things because we know what works. We know what 
works.
    I mean, this is very different than a historical drug 
conspiracy, where you are getting 17 years in the Federal 
penitentiary. You guys are in charge of primary enforcement. 
And if it is sourcing the crime lab, although I would argue the 
crime lab, you recognize a little bit what a lot of states all 
over the country go through. There is a reason we are trying to 
get historical rape test tested again all across the country 
and those things.
    But I think instead of demonizing all of this stuff all the 
time, we have an opportunity to do this. And I agree with Mr. 
Timmons, in that if it is a resource issue, we are willing to 
look at the resource issue, but I also think it is an issue of 
how we deliver these services, whether it is coming in or 
coming out.
    If you need more prosecutors to deal with first-time 
offenders, we need to know that. If you need more ability to 
communicate with the local police department so the enforcement 
and the prosecutorial missions are more copacetic, we need to 
do that. But I do think we have an ability to do some of this, 
and there are some smart things we can do here as we are moving 
through it because we are willing to spend the money if the 
money is spent appropriately and if we are doing it. Mayor 
Bowser, you look like you want to say something.
    Mayor Bowser. I do want to say something because----
    Mr. Armstrong. That was not supposed to be a four-minute 
rant, but I get fired up on this stuff.
    Mayor Bowser. We do need more prosecutors. We do. They do 
not work for me. They work for the U.S. attorney, but we need 
more prosecutors. I have heard the U.S. attorney say they are 
not prosecuting a lot of misdemeanors, but this is my way of 
thinking, and this is how my police officers think. They have 
been saying for years that we are going to arrest them, then 
they are going to be right back out because they know that they 
are not going to be prosecuted even if it is a misdemeanor.
    But misdemeanors indicate, in my view, a sense of 
lawlessness, and that sense of lawlessness grows. And I know 
they have to be efficient with their resources and we can 
appreciate that, but let us make sure they have enough 
prosecutors, and the U.S. attorney can tell you what he thinks, 
to prosecute our homicides. But also to prosecute our gun 
offenses, because a felon in possession of a gun should be 
prosecuted.
    Mr. Armstrong. OK. I agree completely, and we are 20 
seconds over the line. I will say it is unique in that this is 
the one space where U.S. Attorney's Office actually deals with 
misdemeanors as a primary offense. But I will say, one of the 
biggest mistakes that has been made is catch and release on 
misdemeanors because if you are doing catch and release on 
misdemeanors and it is a 19-year-old offender, by 22, they are 
going to be a felon. That is just the reality.
    Chairman Comer. I am sorry, Congressman. You want to 
respond?
    Mr. Armstrong. I am way out of time, but I will take any 
extra if anybody has got it. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. A very good discussion. The Chair 
recognizes Mr. Casar of Texas for five minutes.
    Mr. Casar. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Graves, just because it 
seemed like you were going to chime in, can you talk a little 
bit about recidivism and how it is you all take actions to make 
sure that folks are not re-committing crimes? What are you all 
finding?
    Mr. Graves. Yes. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity. 
So, in response to the resource question, every prosecutor will 
tell you, every head of a prosecuting organization will tell 
you, I will take more prosecutors and I can do more with more, 
so yes. And we are incredibly appreciative of the Fiscal Year 
2023 budget that was passed that provided additional resources 
for prosecutors. We received additional prosecutors in the U.S. 
Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia because of that. 
We would ask that the President's Fiscal Year 2024 budget be 
fully funded because that would allow for additional 
prosecutors. And of course, if you want to go above the budget 
request, we will take more prosecutors.
    I want to be clear. With respect to misdemeanors, I view 
them as a public safety issue. There is no category of 
misdemeanors that our office is refusing or declining to 
prosecute. I share in the sentiment that has been expressed 
that misdemeanors have a tremendous impact on the community. 
That is why when we have sufficient evidence, we move forward 
with misdemeanors. And I want to increase the rates, and our 
office, along with the Mayor, have taken steps in the wake of 
DFS' loss of accreditation to get us the testing that we need 
in order to prosecute these misdemeanors.
    A large percentage of the misdemeanor cases that we are 
prosecuting are drug possession offenses. We want to prosecute 
those drug possession offenses so that we can get those 
individuals under court supervision into treatment programs 
and, hopefully, address the root cause that is driving the 
criminal conduct.
    Mr. Casar. Thank you, Mr. Graves. In my district, in the 
35th District of Texas, I am proud that 60,000 of my 
constituents are veterans and active military. They have a 
voice and a vote in Congress. But here in D.C. there are over 
30,000 veterans, who, while they have a powerful voice here in 
Congress with Ms. Holmes Norton, they are not given an equal 
vote. When the citizens enlisted, they knew that there was a 
chance that they might never see their friends or family ever 
again. They signed up knowing that they could hold their 
representative in Congress accountable for our votes that put 
their lives on the line, but service members from D.C. do not 
have that same right.
    D.C. residents also have no vote in the Senate, where 
military leadership is confirmed. D.C. residents pay taxes to 
fund wars but have no say in whether or not our country goes to 
war. D.C. residents have served bravely in our military for the 
entire history of our country, and some have paid the ultimate 
price with their lives for a country that denies them voting 
representation in Congress and full local government. Mayor 
Bowser, what message does it send to D.C. military families and 
veterans when the country they have risked their lives for 
refuses to afford them basic democratic rights?
    Mayor Bowser. Well, obviously, it sends the wrong message, 
Congressman, and we often find that our service members have 
more need. And they have to call on the government from 
everything from how they access their VA benefits to sometimes 
needing housing supports and services, and they want to make 
sure that they are fully represented. They also have 
grievances, and they want to be able to have those grievances 
heard by voting Members of the Congress that can make changes. 
They know how the system works, and they probably best know how 
to make it work better for themselves and their families.
    Mr. Casar. Thank you for that. My experience representing 
Military USA in San Antonio and then veterans and military 
families throughout Central Texas is that, indeed, so many of 
our veterans and active service members are great participants 
in our democracy and help us make this system work better. And 
I believe that with D.C. Statehood, those active military 
members and veterans would be best served here in D.C.
    We are continuing to see this trend of picking on cities 
that are trying to do their jobs spread across the country. 
Today in Texas, the Senate is considering voting on a bill to 
wipe out water breaks rules for construction workers in Dallas, 
eviction protections for renters in Austin. They are picking on 
the city of San Antonio for a variety of things, including, I 
think, a paid sick day's ordinance. I think that it is 
incumbent on us as Congress to try to support D.C.----
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you.
    Mr. Casar [continuing]. Both give you statehood and try to 
support you rather than getting in the way. Thank you so much, 
and I yield back.
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Ms. Luna from Florida 
for five minutes.
    Mrs. Luna. Pretty appalling to hear some of these crime 
stats from some of my colleagues, but in reading some of your 
testimony, Mayor, and then also just hearing the back and 
forth, I realize that you have actually been more pro law 
enforcement than your city council. And I think there is no 
clear really example of what happened recently with the D.C. 
Council's decision to rewrite the city's criminal code, which 
thank goodness, was overturned. But obviously, what Americans 
want is effective leadership in their Nation's capital. And 
understanding the experience of residents and visitors, it is 
incredibly important, not just leaders that are apparently out 
of touch with the issues plaguing the city. Mayor Bowser, I 
wanted to ask you why it is that you think your city council is 
working so hard against you to ensure the safety of residents 
and visitors.
    Mayor Bowser. I think our city council is concerned about 
safety of residents and visitors. It will not surprise anybody 
that we have philosophical differences. My views on how to make 
the city safer are well known, and I believe that they were 
confirmed by voters last year in bringing me back for a third 
term. But I also think that Americans are having these 
discussions in cities and towns all across our country. And 
what I hear them telling me when I go to visit places, they are 
not really concerned about my city council or me, but they do 
want to make sure that Washington is working, and when I say 
that, I am talking about Federal Washington. I think----
    Mrs. Luna. But my question is more so focusing right now in 
that I have constituents that come up, like some of my 
colleagues had mentioned, and they do not feel safe walking 
around. I do not feel safe walking around. And when you had a 
fellow Member of Congress that was brutally attacked by someone 
that had a criminal record, that was obviously showing that 
this person was disturbed, and then you had the failure of 
prosecution for that. That, to me, does not signify a safe 
city. In fact, we are looking, and we are seeing that sexual 
abuse offenses have increased over 48 percent in just one 
year's timeframe from 2022 to 2023. My next question would be 
for you, Mr. Graves. Just as a personal understanding, I 
understand you are married. Yes?
    Mr. Graves. I am sorry. I missed----
    Mrs. Luna. I understand that you are married?
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Mrs. Luna. OK. And you have children?
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Mrs. Luna. So, I would assume that you are against violence 
against women?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, of course.
    Mrs. Luna. So, my question for you is, there has been many 
concerns brought up by my colleagues that you have actively 
chosen to ignore certain cases, and as a result of that, it is 
impacting people that ultimately are relying on you to do your 
job in order to make them feel safe. In the instance of my 
colleague that was attacked, I mean, my goodness. She is coming 
downstairs from her apartment. You have a crazy man that goes 
in, has a criminal history, should have been locked up prior 
and yet he was not. And I just want to know why because I 
understand that if that was your wife or that was your child, I 
assume that you would have pressed charges, would you have not?
    Mr. Graves. So, I understand the concern for the community 
in keeping all of our fellow community members safe. We are 
prosecuting the individual you are referencing----
    Mrs. Luna. But he had a track record, and he was allowed 
back on the streets, and those actions that were taken against 
him were clearly not done in a way that caused him to 
understand that he can no longer do that. This person was a 
disturbed individual. He should have been given a more harsher 
sentence. My question is, is would you have allowed that to 
happen if that was your wife or your child. Yes or no?
    Mr. Graves. So, I----
    Mrs. Luna. It is a yes or no.
    Mr. Graves. So, it is not a yes or no question.
    Mrs. Luna. It is a yes or no because you have people that 
are directly being impacted and hurt by these people, and you 
are failing to do your job, just like Representative Biggs had 
asked you for your perspective on a case where someone was 
obviously being charged with a more harsher sentence than they 
deserved. And yet you are sitting here trying to argue that 
when people clearly do not feel safe. People are arguing about 
statehood. Statehood is fine, if the city can actually manage 
cases, but the city cannot even prosecute adolescent cases, and 
that is your responsibility. So, I am not trying to be a jerk 
here, but what I am asking is for you to do your job and make 
people feel safe, especially those that are depending on you to 
do it. When you see cases of, you know, 48-percent-increase in 
sexual assault cases, my goodness.
    Mr. Graves. So, my----
    Mrs. Luna. That is it. I have heard enough. Chairman, I 
yield my time.
    Mayor Bowser. Congresswoman----
    Mrs. Luna. Thank you.
    Mayor Bowser. Congresswoman, may I address your question 
about sexual abuse? I know that he wants to talk about our----
    Mrs. Luna. We only have 26 seconds left.
    Mayor Bowser. We do have a lot to say about that when time 
allows.
    Mrs. Luna. I will contact your office.
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you.
    Chairman Comer. OK. The gentlelady yields back. The Chair 
recognizes Ms. Crockett from Texas for five minutes.
    Ms. Crockett. Thank you. I do not know that I can get 
through all that I need to say in five minutes, but I am going 
to do my best. We are going to start off with sexual abuse. I 
am so excited that my colleagues across the aisle care about 
sexual abuse considering that the frontrunner right now for, 
like, presidency has kind of just been found liable of sexual 
abuse. So, I am excited because this may mean that finally some 
folks will back off from supporting him because we do not 
support sexual abusers in this chamber. So, I am happy about 
this, but let us talk about facts versus fiction.
    My Republican colleagues want to talk about being tough on 
crime and keeping criminals off the streets. Let us talk about 
what is criminal. We have got Members of Congress elected in 
other states, other cities trying to subvert democracy and the 
role of the people of D.C. by dictating that the city act in a 
way the Republicans want because they think they know what is 
best. Republicans want to subvert the people's power, and it is 
not just for D.C. It is all over. We see this in states like 
Texas and North Carolina with gerrymandering. In fact, we still 
have Members here who still think that Trump won in 2020.
    Republicans want to talk about crime and violence, but they 
do not want to admit their role in this crisis. The fact is 
that they still allow assault weapons in the hands of radical 
right extremists, which will force families visiting a mall in 
my state of Texas to leave a mall with nothing more than 
trauma, hurt, and despair as a neo-Nazi terrorized them. What 
did they have in their hand? Another AR-15, but we do not want 
to have a conversation about that.
    So, if we are going to talk about crime and the reasons for 
the increase in them, then we have got to talk about these root 
causes. No. 1, the fact that we have elected legislators that 
will not do their job and protect people by keeping these 
weapons off the streets. That is No. 1. No. 2, we are still 
reeling from a financial crisis, and guess what? They do not 
want to make it better. I am sure they all campaigned and said, 
oh, we are going to help out the economy post-COVID, but right 
now, we are on a cliff over the debt ceiling, the debt ceiling 
that was raised three times under Trump. And 25 percent of this 
credit card bill that they do not want to pay was accrued under 
Trump, and he only had one term, and hopefully, he won't have 
no more.
    Nevertheless, I digressed. Let me move on. So, let us also 
talk about the fact that just recently--I think it was 
yesterday or two days ago--we received reports that there is a 
staff member who is working for a Republican on this Committee 
who has ties with and supports a White nationalist who has 
proclaimed himself to be just like Hitler. I do not really know 
what to say, except for the fact that this is a farce, alright? 
Because the fact is we have got an increase in crime all over. 
If we really want to be real about it, let us talk about it. We 
are talking about D.C. right now, but the murder rates in red 
states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama have statistically 
exceeded those in blue states like Illinois, New Mexico, and 
Michigan every year since 2000.
    But since my colleagues feel the need to meddle in local 
affairs of D.C., then let us look at where there might be 
issues. To be clear, D.C. does not control most of its own 
post-arrest criminal justice system. Instead, the Federal 
Government administers most of it. So, I have a few questions, 
yes or no, for you, Mayor Bowser. The Federal Government, not 
D.C., has the authority to prosecute nearly all crimes 
committed by adults under D.C. law?
    Mayor Bowser. That is correct.
    Ms. Crockett. The Federal Government appoints judges to the 
local D.C. courts?
    Mayor Bowser. That is correct.
    Ms. Crockett. The Federal Government has jurisdiction over 
community supervision and adults charged or convicted of D.C. 
crimes?
    Mayor Bowser. That is correct.
    Ms. Crockett. The Federal Government has jurisdiction over 
the incarceration of adults convicted of felonies under D.C. 
law?
    Mayor Bowser. Correct.
    Ms. Crockett. Last, Mayor Bowser, isn't the Federal 
Government responsible for parole and supervised release of 
people convicted of felonies under D.C. law?
    Mayor Bowser. Yes.
    Ms. Crockett. Thank you. The fact is, my Republican 
colleagues want to talk about keeping D.C. streets crime-free. 
They cannot even keep the halls of Congress crime-free. We are 
going to talk about this, because I got 24 seconds. My freshman 
colleague has just been indicted on 13 counts, 13 felony 
counts, right? But have they exhibited any courage to say, you 
know what, we will disallow this in our body, we will make sure 
that we expel this individual? They have not. So, what I do not 
want to hear is that they care about crime because if they did, 
they would start by cleaning up our own house and mind our own 
business instead of coming after D.C. So, thank you so much for 
your time.
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you, Congresswoman.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mrs. McClain from 
Michigan for five minutes.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you all for 
being here today. I appreciate it.
    I am going to turn the focus a little bit over to the law-
abiding citizens. I am going to try and make it a non-partisan 
and make it more about the law-abiding citizens because I 
think, you know, we just got done with Mother's Day, and I 
think I have one of the best moms that has ever walked the face 
of the earth. So Happy Mother's Day again, Mom. But I look back 
to all the lessons that my mom taught me was, for every action 
there is a reaction. And if you do an action and that is a bad 
action, you got to pay the consequences, Lisa. So, you can make 
your own decisions, but when your decisions or when your 
actions hurt someone else, then you have to pay the 
consequences. And there are some things Mom can help you with, 
and some things other, but she cannot, but you have to be 
responsible, and more importantly, accountable for your 
actions. And I hear her on my shoulder chirping in my ear 
constantly, so I think Mom has done her job.
    But let me just start. As of May 9 of this year, total 
crime--I know you have heard the stats, but I think they bear 
repeating--total crime up 27 percent in D.C. from the same time 
last year. Motor vehicles theft up 110 percent. Homicides up 12 
percent. Sexual abuse is up 53 percent, and property crime is 
up 30 percent. That is not a good position for the law-abiding 
citizens to be in, and I think we need to really take a good 
long look at why. And I think it goes back, and I hear my mom 
on my shoulder, consequence to the action. What is the 
consequence to your action? Because if my curfew was at 10 and 
I came home at 10:05, there was a consequence to my action. And 
sometimes it was a little harsher than I thought, but I 
responded to that consequence, and the next time I came home at 
9:50. I was not late.
    But despite a sharp increase in crime, the U.S. Attorney's 
Office for the District of Columbia declined to prosecute 67 
percent of individuals arrested in D.C. in 2022. Sixty-seven 
percent of the people that committed an action did not have a 
consequence to their action. I wonder what behavior that led 
to. I wonder if anyone can connect those dots. According to 
Police Chief Robert Contee, the average homicide suspect had 
been arrested 11 times prior to them committing the homicide. I 
wonder if we would have had a consequence to that action a 
little bit sooner if we would have had the same result, right?
    My mom has zero time in law enforcement, but I think her 
concepts really make sense. So, Mayor Bowser, do you think 
violent and repeat offenders should be kept in jail?
    Mayor Bowser. I believe in consequences as well, 
Congresswomen.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you.
    Mayor Bowser. But I also believe that it is complicated.
    Mrs. McClain. Life is complicated, and life is complicated 
for the law-abiding citizen, too. I am sorry. It is really 
quick. Do you believe that violent repeat, repeat, repeat 
offenders should be kept in jail, and if the answer is ``I do 
not know'' or ``it depends?''
    Mayor Bowser. I will say that I advanced a piece of 
legislation that addresses the issue that you are raising.
    Mrs. McClain. So yes?
    Mayor Bowser. For a person who has been convicted of a 
violent crime and is arrested for another violent crime, I am 
suggesting that we close what I see as a gap in our law, and--
--
    Mrs. McClain. I agree with you, but I think you are missing 
the point.
    Mayor Bowser.--give the courts the validity to detain them 
while they await trial.
    Mrs. McClain. So, is that a yes?
    Mayor Bowser. It is a yes in some cases.
    Mrs. McClain. And therein lies the problem.
    Mayor Bowser. Yes, I believe firmly. This is what I believe 
firmly, Congresswoman, and we have been focused on taking guns 
off our streets.
    Mrs. McClain. Let me stop you because I have another 
question.
    Mayor Bowser. OK.
    Mrs. McClain. Do you have any concerns that the average 
homicide suspect has been arrested 11 times prior to committing 
the murder, Mr. Graves? I mean, 11 times.
    Mr. Graves. Yes, we have concerns with anybody who is 
arrested. I do want to clarify that same study, which was 
talking about a point in time, almost all those people had been 
prosecuted for some of their conduct. Seventy-five percent of 
them were under court supervision at some point in time in 
their lives, and 25 percent----
    Mrs. McClain. But it did not work, right? It did not work, 
right?
    Mr. Graves. Yes. Twenty-five percent of them were under 
court supervision at the time of the offense.
    Mrs. McClain. Right. OK. So, can you explain to the 
Committee why your office is declining to prosecute so many 
people? I mean, 67 percent. I am already down. Thank you all 
for your time, and thank you again to my mom for talking about 
consequences. Actions have consequences.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mr. Garcia for five 
minutes.
    Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank Mayor 
Bowser, Mr. Graves for being here today, particularly Mayor 
Bowser. Before I came to Congress, I was mayor of Long Beach 
for eight years. I know it is a very tough job.
    Mayor Bowser. Yes.
    Mr. Garcia. And I am certainly no stranger to criminal 
justice reform and the work that all of you do every single 
day. Just to your entire team and from the police leadership, 
everyone else, just thank you for your work. I have also always 
said that we need to get more mayors and local officials 
elected to Congress, but certainly today and some of the 
questions we have heard is not exactly what I had in mind. This 
is already our second Committee hearing on this topic, and I 
feel oftentimes like I am back at my city council meetings.
    If Members of this Committee wanted to focus on crime, they 
should run for office in D.C. Clearly, they are very interested 
in what you all do as it relates to crime here at the local 
jurisdiction, yet they are not as interested in discussing 
crime and gun violence in their own districts and states. 
Instead of having a meaningful discussion about public safety, 
which we can always have, we continue to show as a Committee, 
unfortunately through the Majority, our contempt for the people 
of Washington, DC.
    D.C. residents are Americans who deserve the same rights to 
Federal representation that each of our constituents have 
across the country. Republicans are hauling in our district's 
duly elected leaders or appointed officials before this 
Committee, for the high crime of supporting measures to support 
and to change our criminal justice system. Obviously, this is 
personally, I believe, embarrassing to this Committee. This is 
not the format. We should not be bringing you in to discuss 
these issues. Instead, we should be uplifting and supporting 
statehood for all of you.
    It is also telling that Republicans are choosing to target 
Washington, DC, even though many places across the country are 
dealing with much higher crime than the District, in crime 
rates. In fact, I think, you know, we have said this before the 
last year, and it has been said multiple times, I have read 
this personally as well, violent crime in Washington, DC. has 
actually dropped in the last year overall. And yes, there are 
serious challenges around crime and public safety in all big 
cities. We know this to be true. But crime overall in 
Washington, DC. has dropped 45 percent in the last 10 years. If 
you look at the last few decades, D.C. is actually a safer 
place, and we should not forget that. Yes, there are still 
challenges, but the progress is going in the right direction.
    And if we want to talk about violent crime, we should be 
talking about issues around guns. The rate of gun deaths in 
Mississippi is over 30 percent higher than it is in D.C. Rates 
are also higher in Louisiana, in Missouri, and Alabama, in 
Alaska, in Arkansas, and South Carolina, all higher than the 
rates here in D.C. Yet we are not bringing in the Governors of 
these other states in front of our Committee and not asking 
them probing questions. I am not really sure why, but it is 
clear that my Republican colleagues really do not care about 
the violence that are facing American communities. They want to 
make political points.
    I have only been here for five months, but I have seen 
House Democrats sponsor numerous gun reform and gun violence 
legislation, whether it has been trying to ban assault weapons, 
high-capacity magazines, bump stocks, universal background 
checks, all things that could actually help reduce violent 
crime. And if Republicans really wanted to reduce violent 
crime, they could reach across the aisle and bring forward some 
of this legislation. Now instead, we are going to debate 
whether 700,000 American citizens in our Nation's capital 
deserve the right to self-determination.
    And, Mayor Bowser, especially to you as a former mayor, I 
am sorry you have to be here today when you should be at City 
Hall doing the people's work. And the people, of course, have 
you here as their mayor, and I thank you for being here. But 
since you are here, and our Republicans are so interested in 
dropping crime, I was wondering if you have any advice for the 
Governors of Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Alaska, 
Arkansas, and South Carolina, all of whom have higher rates of 
gun deaths and violence than the District? Do you have any 
advice for them about what those states could possibly do to 
really bring forward some criminal justice reform in their 
states? I am sure my colleagues will take that information and 
pass it along to their Governors.
    Mayor Bowser. The advice I would give them is what I give 
to all of the Members of the Congress as well. That is we need 
commonsense gun reform, Congressman. We need to keep kids safe 
in schools, Congressman. And we need to do the things that most 
Americans agree with: background checks. And much has been said 
about disagreements I have had with our council. We agree 
wholeheartedly on a piece of legislation that I know will make 
the District safer, it will decrease instances of domestic 
violence as well, and that is red flag laws. Governors and 
state houses all over our country should be focused on 
commonsense reforms that will keep our kids and families safe.
    Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Mayor, for that good advice, and I 
definitely encourage our Governors to take that advice as well. 
And with that, I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mr. Burchett from 
Tennessee for five minutes.
    Mr. Burchett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members, thank you. 
Ma'am, I used to be a county mayor myself, so it is the best 
job I ever had. So, thank you for being here, ma'am.
    Mayor Bowser. I agree.
    Mr. Burchett. Mr. Graves, besides the juvenile crime, your 
office also handles all the criminal prosecutions for the 
District of Columbia. Is that correct?
    Mr. Graves. I am sorry. I just want to make sure I 
understood the question. Outside of juvenile crime, we handle 
adult crime, but juvenile crime is handled by the D.C. office.
    Mr. Burchett. Yes, that was my point.
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Mr. Burchett. In 2015, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the 
District of Columbia declined to prosecute 35 percent of the 
cases. Is that correct?
    Mr. Graves. That is consistent with my recollection, 
roughly.
    Mr. Burchett. And yes or no, you were sworn in as U.S. 
Attorney for the District of Columbia in November 2021. Is that 
correct?
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. I think you testified earlier that the 
percentage of criminal cases your office declined to prosecute 
in 2022 was 67 percent. Does that sound correct?
    Mr. Graves. That is not correct. That is Fiscal Year 2022, 
so it both pre-dates when I was sworn in and post-dates.
    Mr. Burchett. The total crime, though, is up 27 percent 
from the same time last year, so I do not think it is a lack of 
criminals. Why does your office decline to prosecute so many of 
these cases?
    Mr. Graves. So, thank you for the question, and I welcome 
the opportunity to explain. And Congresswoman McClain actually 
had a great chart that answered a lot of your question. The one 
thing not reflected on the chart is throughout the period----
    Mr. Burchett. Congresswoman McClain tends to confuse me. 
So, I just asked----
    Mr. Graves. And I wish I had her chart to help me explain. 
But the one thing not reflected on the chart is that every year 
we charge roughly 90 percent of the most serious, violent 
felonies. What changed, and you can see the change start in 
Fiscal Year 2017 and kind of incrementally step down each year, 
was our handling of misdemeanors, and there are complicated 
reasons. Obviously, we are talking about going across three 
administrations and five U.S. attorneys. We are working on some 
of the issues that led to these declinations with misdemeanors, 
and the numbers are going up.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. In an interview in The Washington Post, 
you said your office is continuing to prosecute most of the 
violent felonies but were declining less serious cases. Is that 
correct? That sound within your recollection?
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. And in the same interview you said the 
cases you decline mostly came after arrest, in cases like gun 
possession, drug possession, and other misdemeanors. Does that 
sound right?
    Mr. Graves. So that generally sounds correct for Fiscal 
Year 2022. I would like to clarify the quote in light of a 
prior exchange, though.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. Are you aware that your predecessor, 
Channing Phillips, who wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post 
titled, ``D.C. Should Not Disregard Misdemeanor Crimes But 
Should Keep Focusing on Rehabilitation Programs?''
    Mr. Graves. Yes, I am aware. That was in response to an op-
ed that ran in The Washington Post encouraging the U.S. 
Attorney's Office to stop prosecuting misdemeanor offenses at 
all.
    Mr. Burchett. Right. The only people that did not really 
read those op-eds, are the ones that they were written about. 
So, are you aware that the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, 
which includes Detroit, only declined to prosecute 33 percent 
of the cases in 2022?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, I have seen figures reported from other 
jurisdictions. It is important to note when you are comparing 
to other jurisdictions, it is often apples-to-oranges 
comparisons. Some jurisdictions, for instance, the police can 
automatically file charges. There are no prosecutorial reviews, 
and then there are subsequent dismissals by the prosecutors 
after charges are filed.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. But do you know that Chicago only 
declined 14 percent of their cases?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, and that is an automatic file 
jurisdiction.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. And in Philadelphia, only four percent?
    Mr. Graves. I have seen that figure reported, yes.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. Mr. Contee, is that correct? I say that 
name. Is it Contee?
    Chief Contee. It is Contee, sir.
    Mr. Burchett. Chief Contee?
    Chief Contee. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. My name gets massacred pretty regular 
too, so.
    Chief Contee. No worries.
    Mr. Burchett. All right. Thank you. Didn't you say the 
average homicide suspect has been arrested 11 times prior to 
them committing a homicide?
    Chief Contee. I did.
    Mr. Burchett. And so, you can see how Mr. Graves' apparent 
soft-on-crime policies could actually make residents and 
visitors feel less safe?
    Chief Contee. I do not think it is Mr. Graves's policies 
necessarily. I think it is a combination of things, sir.
    Mr. Burchett. OK. Mr. Graves, my office gives four to five 
constituents tours a week for groups. Hundreds of families from 
East Tennessee come to visit the capital every year. All the 
Members before you come to D.C. every session every week. We 
all have staff living in D.C. I think your decision to decline 
67 percent of the cases, regardless of the reasons, put our 
offices at risk, but most importantly, it puts my constituents 
and the constituents and every member here up at risk. I think 
it is unacceptable, and, frankly, I think in some cases is 
disgraceful. Thank you all for being here. Mr. Chairman, I 
yield back.
    Chairman Comer. Chair recognizes Mr. Moskowitz from Florida 
for five minutes.
    Mr. Moskowitz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the 
Mayor for being here and your approach to this issue over the 
last several months, and, quite frankly, the last several 
years. I want to remind, you know, my colleagues across the 
aisle that six out of the top 10 high-crime states are red 
states, so I assume at some point, since we are now the crime 
committee, I assume at some point, we are going to have the 
attorney generals from those states to talk about what we can 
do in those red states on crime.
    You know, it is interesting that I guess we want to be the 
D.C. Council. And here we are yet another hearing on crime, and 
yet we have not heard the other side talk about gun violence. 
Again, I want to remind them gun violence is crime. Mass 
shootings are crime.
    We heard that Taiwan has really low crime. Well, Taiwan 
does not allow mentally ill people to buy AR-15s, unlimited 
ammunition, and body armor, possibly one reason why Taiwan has 
slightly lower crime than us. You know, a Member of this 
Committee had someone burst into their office and injure staff 
members. We should be thankful that that person did not have a 
gun because instead of two injured staff members, we would have 
two dead staff members. And yet we are not doing anything to 
stop mentally ill people from being able to buy AR-15s and 
unlimited ammunition in this country.
    Gun trafficking. Gun trafficking in D.C. is a huge issue. 
My friends across the aisle like to talk about illegal people 
all the time, but they do not want to talk about illegal guns. 
They do not want to talk about all the illegal guns that are 
being trafficked in D.C. They do not want to say the word 
``gun'' at all. D.C. went from being a single-digit ghost gun 
area to now having 461 ghost guns recovered in 2022. In fact, 
semi-automatic weapons are being converted to automatic 
weapons. We have seen an increase in that by 340 percent. We do 
not hear that at all from the other side, even though they are 
so focused on crime.
    We heard a question about myocarditis, serious. It is a 
fair question, but also not the leading cause of school-age 
children dying. That is guns. And so, we cannot continue to 
take these hearings serious when we are talking about crime if 
we are not going to talk about gun violence. You are not in 
denial. I know you know this. You just do not want to talk 
about it because it is politically expedient.
    We heard another member talking about books, you know, 
books in school. Look, I am sure there are a couple of books 
that, you know, we could take out of the classroom, but books 
are not killing kids, and dead kids cannot read, to remind you 
again. And so, we even passed a D.C. disapproval in Congress. I 
voted for it, by the way, Mr. Chairman. The President signed 
it, OK?
    And so, you know, what I do not understand is why are we 
wasting this Committee's time, the United States Oversight 
Committee's time for the second time on just Washington, DC, 
just a district? No other state? No other issue? And why, 
again, are we talking about crime when we are not talking about 
gun violence? I just came from a hearing on fentanyl. And I had 
to listen to parents testify and talk about how they are losing 
their kids to fentanyl, serious issue. I support the Chairman 
of that Committee's bill. The data is clear on fentanyl, but 
you know what else? The data is clear on gun violence. The 
numbers do not lie, and yet, we are ignoring it. Perhaps we can 
maybe de-politicize the issue one day like we are doing with 
fentanyl because it is important. Watching parents continue to 
bury their children because they sent them to school, or they 
sent them to a movie theater, or they went to a grocery store, 
or they were in a church, or they were in a synagogue is 
despicable.
    And so, look, I know you guys are busy. I know you got 
stuff going on. You are trying to find, you know, the fake 
informant that now has gone missing. I know you are busy with 
that, you know, but I am hoping that perhaps the Oversight 
Committee, if they are so worried about Federal overreach, 
perhaps they can start, you know, being focused on real 
government oversight. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield 
back.
    Chairman Comer. Gentleman yields back. Before I recognize 
Mrs. Boebert, with respect to the missing informant, just so 
you know, just to clarify, the Grassley whistleblower is alive 
and well. The Chair recognizes Ms. Boebert.
    Mrs. Boebert. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mayor Bowser, is the 
District of Columbia more dangerous during your tenure?
    Mayor Bowser. Congresswoman, as you have heard, we have 
experienced over the last 10 years decreases in violent crime, 
all categories of crime. You also heard me talk about in my 
testimony, especially in the last three years, being very 
concerned----
    Mrs. Boebert. What about since last year, Mayor?
    Mayor Bowser. What about it?
    Mrs. Boebert. Is it more dangerous this year than it was 
last year?
    Mayor Bowser. I am going to ask the Chief to give you the 
data.
    Mrs. Boebert. I am asking, Mayor, because I see that crime 
is up 27 percent. That does not sound like a decrease to me. 
Violent crime is up 13 percent, and in 2020 and 2021, the city 
recorded more than 200 homicides in consecutive years for the 
first time in 20 years. So is Washington, DC, more dangerous 
now that you are in office?
    Mayor Bowser. The Nation is more dangerous with more guns 
and more violent crime.
    Mrs. Boebert. We are talking about Washington, DC. here, 
and we have also seen that the police budget has been cut $15 
million in 2020, Mayor. Do you think that this contributes to 
an increase in crime?
    Mayor Bowser. I think a lot of things have contributed to 
increases in crime across the country.
    Mrs. Boebert. What about in Washington, DC.? Do you think 
that the $15 million budget cut to MPD in 2020 caused an 
increase in crime here in the District of Columbia?
    Mayor Bowser. I think that we need to have 4,000 police 
officers over the course of the last several years.
    Mrs. Boebert. So, you want more police officers?
    Mayor Bowser. Yes.
    Mrs. Boebert. Well, in the past, you have hired on average 
300 new police officers each year, but in 2022, you hired 103. 
That is 200 less, and now you are advocating for more police 
officers after cutting their budget and hiring 200 less police 
officers?
    Mayor Bowser. I have advocated for more police every day as 
Mayor of the District of Columbia. When I became Mayor, we were 
facing a retirement bubble, and we set a course at that time 
for hiring and retention----
    Mrs. Boebert. Do you believe that Washington, DC. would be 
safer and more secure if you hired more police officers rather 
than decreasing the number of recruitment by 200?
    Mayor Bowser. We are not decreasing recruitment, but we are 
facing, as cities and police departments around the country, 
less interest in joining police.
    Mrs. Boebert. Why do you think that is? Do you think our 
police officers have been demonized because of the rhetoric 
that is flowing from this city and many other cities across our 
Nation?
    Mayor Bowser. I think that policing is a tough job.
    Mrs. Boebert. I would agree.
    Mayor Bowser. And it is a job that has grown tougher over 
the years, and I think----
    Mrs. Boebert. Particularly when do you think it became more 
tough? Maybe when they were attacked for doing their jobs of 
protecting citizens? When they lost their funding?
    Mayor Bowser. Congresswoman, if I am allowed to speak, I 
will answer you.
    Mrs. Boebert. Yes, ma'am.
    Mayor Bowser. But I am not going to talk over you. It has 
been my experience in the last eight years that we have had to 
use more incentives, and we have investigated and researched 
what is going to take to attract young people to come into 
policing. One thing that we have done in the District, for 
example, is to create a police academy that we are very proud 
of. Chief Contee, in fact, joined the police academy when he 
was 17 years old and rose through the ranks to be Chief of 
Police.
    Mrs. Boebert. I do not need to worry about childhood issues 
here.
    Mayor Bowser. This is how we get----
    Mrs. Boebert. No, no. Do you think that defund the police 
signs around the District of Columbia, and advocating for this 
is incentivizing----
    Mayor Bowser. I did not advocate to defund the police.
    Mrs. Boebert. But you did defund them. Fifteen million 
dollar budget cut in 2020----
    Mayor Bowser. I did not defund the police.
    Mrs. Boebert. Madam Mayor, what would you say to the law-
abiding citizens here in Washington, DC, who, because of 
policies you have supported, are unable to defend themselves 
with this rise in crime, crime going up 27 percent?
    Mayor Bowser. Congresswoman, I do not have to come here to 
talk to you to talk to the residents of the District of 
Columbia. I talk to them daily. I have press conferences----
    Mrs. Boebert. And what do you say to these law-abiding 
citizens?
    Mayor Bowser. What I tell them is that, as their Mayor, 
regardless of what is happening nationally, regardless of what 
is happening in our very complicated criminal justice system, 
as their Mayor, I am charged with making it work, and if that 
means----
    Mrs. Boebert. Is it working?
    Mayor Bowser. I am charged with making it work, and what I 
have to----
    Mrs. Boebert. Do you think that you are doing a good job 
with that because I am seeing that crime is up? Violent crime 
is up. Homicides are up. Police funding is down. Police 
recruitment is down. So, is it working?
    Mayor Bowser. Every day, we approach any vexing issue in 
our city, crime being among them, police recruitment----
    Mrs. Boebert. Madam Mayor, my time is up, but you know 
exactly what you need to make Washington, DC. safer. You know 
that you need more police officers. You know that you need more 
funding----
    Mayor Bowser. You heard me say that.
    Mrs. Boebert. You know that you need policies that allow 
law-abiding citizens----
    Mayor Bowser. And you heard me say that.
    Mrs. Boebert. Thank you, ma'am. It is my time. Law-abiding 
citizens to be able to protect themselves in their own home and 
defend them.
    Mayor Bowser. Mrs. Boebert, it sounds like you heard my 
opening statement.
    Mrs. Boebert. You know it, and you wanted to be a part of 
the culture war of BLM 2020 riots rather than protecting and 
defending the police and the citizens in Washington, DC.
    Mayor Bowser. And you are repeating it.
    Mrs. Boebert. And my time has expired. Thank you, Madam 
Mayor.
    Mayor Bowser. And I am happy to repeat it as well. And what 
we have said--Mr. Chairman, if you would permit me in that I 
was over talked much of that five minutes--is that we have been 
very focused on how to make sure we have a policy environment 
that supports the safe city, but also that we approach it not 
just with law enforcement, but with opportunities and with 
prevention measures.
    Mrs. Boebert. Your policies are clearly making your city 
more dangerous, not safer.
    Chairman Comer. The lady's time has expired. The Chair 
recognizes Mr. Goldman for five minutes.
    Mr. Goldman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mayor Bowser and 
Chief Contee, if you would like to answer, is it helpful or 
hurtful to police recruitment when police officers are randomly 
shot and killed around the country?
    Mayor Bowser. Chief?
    Chief Contee. I do not think that that is necessarily 
helpful to police recruiting.
    Mr. Goldman. I did not think also. You know, this is 
National Police Week this week and, in that vein, I would like 
to recognize Chief Contee for your many years of service at the 
MPD, and good luck in your new role with the FBI. And we also 
owe you a huge debt of gratitude, as well as Mayor Bowser, but 
for the heroic efforts that you and your officers played in 
defending this Capitol on January 6.
    It is particularly odd to me to hear my Republican 
colleagues talk so much this week about backing the blue when 
they also defend so many of the January 6 defendants who 
violently attacked the Capitol Police and MPD and injured 
nearly 150 officers, including causing five to die. And it is 
particularly rich hearing accusations from my Republican 
colleagues that anyone is soft on crime, considering the fact 
that a number of them have been to the D.C. jail to defend 
those violent criminals.
    We are now five months into this Congress. This is the 
ninth full hearing of this Committee. This is the second of 
nine on Washington, DC. That is nearly a quarter of this 
Committee's time has been spent on a city of approximately 
700,000 people, and I get it. Maybe it is because the Chairman 
is actually able to find witnesses from the Washington, DC. 
Government, but this is a waste of time.
    Chief Contee, Mr. Timmons earlier said that he believes 
that the morale of the MPD is down. Is it helpful or harmful to 
the morale of the MPD for politicians to go to the D.C. jail to 
defend defendants charged with committing acts of violence 
against the MPD?
    Chief Contee. I think politicizing policing in any way is 
not helpful. You know, I will not specifically address the 
issue, go to a jail and not go to jail, but any time politics 
is injected into law enforcement, I think that that is harmful 
to what our mission is.
    Mr. Goldman. There has been a lot of discussion about 
violent crime in the city. What percentage of the violent crime 
in the city, in your estimate, Chief Contee, involves guns?
    Chief Contee. So, there is a significant percentage of it 
that involves firearms. We see that. But I think, again, when 
you talk about crime in the city, I mean, I have heard a lot of 
numbers, you know, kind of thrown around in the city. I do not 
think there is anybody in this room that has been on more crime 
scenes than I have. So, you know, when we look at it, gun crime 
is certainly an issue with the guns in the hands of individuals 
who should not have them in our city. That certainly is 
something that we have seen that has increased over the years.
    Mr. Goldman. To your knowledge, are any guns manufactured 
in Washington, DC.?
    Chief Contee. There are some personally manufactured 
firearms, ghost guns that people are able to assemble, but 
aside from that, there are no manufacturing places in 
Washington, DC. for firearms.
    Mr. Goldman. So, that means that all the firearms that are 
used in crimes in Washington, DC. come from other states where 
they are permitted to be manufactured and sold?
    Chief Contee. So, the majority of the firearms that come 
into the District of Columbia--we are a consumer state, much 
like New York City and other states. But Washington, DC, the 
majority of the guns come from Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Georgia, from the South up to Washington, DC.
    Mr. Goldman. States with much more lax gun laws than 
Washington, DC, right?
    Chief Contee. Whatever the gun laws are there, those 
firearms show up in Washington, DC.
    Mr. Goldman. Mr. Graves, I am going to turn to you because 
you have been attacked repeatedly during this hearing about 
this number of 67 percent, and no one has given you a chance to 
respond. So, with the rest of my time, I would like for you to 
give whatever response you think appropriate.
    Mr. Graves. Thank you. I appreciate that. So, again, I 
cannot stress enough throughout the whole time period that we 
have been looking at, the chart that was put up, 90 percent of 
serious violent felonies were charged at the time of arrest. 
And I would note, just because a case is not charged at the 
time of arrest does not mean that it is not ultimately charged, 
because there is often, particularly with our violent crimes, 
continued investigation that gets us in a position where we can 
charge the case.
    What we are seeing reflected in the data, which is an 
accurate snapshot of what the office was doing around the time 
I came into the office, was a five-year trend that spans three 
administrations and five U.S. attorneys, primarily around the 
issue of misdemeanors and complications with prosecuting 
misdemeanors that we are trying to address, and we have started 
to address. And our papering rates, our charging rates, in this 
year are much higher than what we saw last year.
    Mr. Goldman. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The Chair recognizes Mr. Palmer from 
Alabama for five minutes.
    Mr. Palmer. Well, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate you holding 
this hearing and trying to address a very serious issue. It has 
turned into another partisan debate, which is disappointing, 
but I do want to respond to a point that was made earlier about 
taxes paid by the District of Columbia relative to Alabama and 
your state of Kentucky. I just want to point out that the 
median household income in the District of Columbia, 74 percent 
higher than it is in Alabama, Kentucky. Yet the household 
poverty rate is higher in the District of Columbia than it is 
in Alabama and Kentucky. So, things need to be put in 
perspective.
    Chief Contee, you have made the point repeatedly that most 
of the gun violence in the District of Columbia is committed 
with illegally possessed firearms. Is that correct?
    Chief Contee. That is correct, sir.
    Mr. Palmer. So, the District of Columbia has very strict 
gun control laws. Is that correct?
    Chief Contee. Yes, sir. That is correct.
    Mr. Palmer. Short of banning all firearms in every state 
and Mexico and Canada, can you explain to me how passing 
another law will reduce gun violence? And I really do not 
believe in gun violence. I think my colleague, Mr. Higgins from 
Louisiana, addressed that very intelligently and forthrightly 
that there is no such thing as gun violence, it is only human 
violence, but most of the guns are already illegal. Is that 
correct?
    Chief Contee. That is correct. We have a number of legal 
firearms actually registered to District residents, over 34,000 
legally registered firearms here in the District of Columbia. 
The ones that I see, the ones that show up generally on crime 
scenes are handguns that are illegal firearms in possession of 
people who should not have them.
    Mr. Palmer. And law-abiding residents of the District of 
Columbia find it very, very difficult to get a concealed carry 
permit?
    Chief Contee. I would not agree with that. Like I said, I 
mean, we have issued over 34,000----
    Mr. Palmer. Out of a population of----
    Chief Contee. Of those who want to have concealed carry 
permits, we process them. We have a timeframe that we are 
allotted by law to do that, and generally, that turnaround is 
roughly within----
    Mr. Palmer. But most of the crime committed in the District 
of Columbia is not committed by those people with concealed 
carry?
    Chief Contee. Most of it. No, sir.
    Mr. Palmer. Yes, sir. Thank you for that response.
    Chief Contee. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Palmer. Was the knife that was used to attack the 
Senator Rand Paul staffer, a legally possessed weapon?
    Chief Contee. You said was it a legal or illegal? I am 
sorry.
    Mr. Palmer. Was it an illegal weapon?
    Chief Contee. If the blade was longer than three inches, 
then yes, it would have been an illegal weapon.
    Mr. Palmer. But we do not have the same concern about those 
type weapons. And the fact of the matter is, and I have not 
looked at FBI's homicides statistics in a while, but there are 
more people killed with a bladed instrument or a blunt 
instrument or a personal weapons, like hands and feet, by a 
significant number than are killed with a rifle of any type. 
Are you familiar with those statistics?
    Chief Contee. That is not the case of the District of 
Columbia, sir.
    Mr. Palmer. With rifles or handguns?
    Chief Contee. With handguns primarily, and now we are also 
seeing the weapons that have been converted to fully automatic. 
We are also seeing those show up a significant amount that are 
showing on the streets.
    Mr. Palmer. Are those handguns that have been converted to 
fully automatic or they are----
    Chief Contee. Some of them are. Some of them are the ghost 
guns, AR-15 type, but we see all different types, primarily 
firearms in the District of Columbia is the leading weapon.
    Mr. Palmer. And all of those are already illegal. Is that 
correct?
    Chief Contee. That is correct, sir.
    Mr. Palmer. So again, Mr. Chairman, I think my earlier 
point is, these hearings become partisan crap shows. I hate to 
say that. And we are not helping the District of Columbia, we 
are not helping our own states by not having a rational 
discussion behind what is really driving crime in our country, 
and we have got to get serious about this. We make guns a 
political issue. We make income. I mean, we just come up with 
ways to really excuse ourselves from the real issue of what is 
driving crime in the country. I think we need to get more 
serious about it, and just gun control laws by themselves are 
not going to accomplish that. Mr. Chairman, thank you for 
holding the hearing. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. Very good point. I agree completely. The 
Chair recognizes Ms. Stansbury from New Mexico for five 
minutes.
    Ms. Stansbury. All right. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
And I want to just start out by thanking Madam Mayor, Chief 
Contee, and others who are serving on the panel, and to just 
acknowledge your service on behalf of our capital city, and 
also I see a lot of very proud staff sitting behind you. Thank 
you for serving the people of D.C. Thank you for serving our 
Nation's capital.
    And I want to say that, for one, I am deeply proud to be 
able to spend part of my time in the city. I lived here for 
seven years when I was a staffer at OMB and in the Senate, and 
I know the work that you guys put in every single day to make 
sure that our city is well represented, that we are caring for 
its citizens. And I find it ironic, which I think many of my 
colleagues have already touched on, that my colleagues across 
the aisle feel comfortable hauling all of these amazing public 
servants into our Nation's capital to lecture you on your jobs, 
but they do not feel comfortable actually supporting the 
citizens of D.C. to actually have a right in this voting body.
    But I also find it ironic, and I want to also echo and give 
snaps to my colleague, Jasmine Crockett, who pointed this out, 
that we are here talking about crime, while one of our 
colleagues from across the aisle, who has been indicted on 13 
criminal counts, is not only at large after being bailed out of 
a New York jail, he is walking around this Capitol voting, and 
the people of D.C. do not have representation in these halls. 
It is outrageous. It is absolutely outrageous.
    I also find it ironic that we have seen such a dystopian 
view painted of this city over the last several hours. As 
somebody who has lived in this city, I came here when I was a 
kid. Today I was walking past the Capitol steps, and I saw a 
bunch of kids on their eighth-grade trips, and I was thinking 
about how much this city has transformed over the last several 
decades. And that is because of the policies, Madam Mayor, that 
you and others who are sitting here today put into place, the 
social programs, universal pre-K, investments in 
infrastructure. This city has literally been transformed under 
your leadership for good.
    People have come back to the city. Young people want to 
live in this city. So, I am proud of the work that you all are 
doing, and I want to provide the opportunity because I have 
heard a lot of outrageous lecturing, a lot of misinformation, 
and, you know, the kind of usual partisan chaos that we hear in 
these hearings, to give you some time to talk about the things 
that you care about, things that you feel Congress can do to 
help support the city and to address any issues that you feel 
need to be addressed this morning.
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you so much for that Congresswoman, and 
I was kind of having the same reaction. While as Mayor, you do 
not want to see any crime in your city. You definitely do not 
want to see increasing crime. I know that we have the tools 
that we need to drive it down, and while, at the same time we 
are doing that, we have not given up on the agenda that 
advances our city.
    Earlier in this year, we released our five-year economic 
development strategy that is focused on our comeback and how we 
do that. We focus on our downtown for sure, but also on all of 
the wonderful neighborhood corridors all around our city that 
are thriving. Thank you for mentioning our children and the 
investments that we have made over the last 15 years in our 
schools, which actually are attracting and keeping families in 
Washington, DC. We are equally proud to have the No. 1 park 
system in the country in that people in Washington, everyone 
lives less than one mile from a recreation center or park. 
Those are the things that we continue to invest in, in 
Washington, DC.
    The Congress can be our partner in that we are unique and 
that there is a lot of Federal presence in our city, untaxable 
Federal presence in our city. And the landscape of some of the 
Federal leases and buildings is also changing. We have a great 
example of a partnership right in the center of Washington. 
And, Congresswoman, of course it has helped advance the 
discussions around Franklin Park, where we use local dollars to 
invest in an underutilized park that is now the center of our 
downtown. We have done that at The Wharf. We are doing it now 
at Walter Reed, St. Elizabeth's, and we know that we can focus 
on underutilized parcels elsewhere.
    Ms. Stansbury. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I just want to 
add quickly on universal early childhood education, we actually 
are fortunate in New Mexico, in my home state, to have taken 
the advisor from the District to help to create the first 
universal childcare program in the country at the state level 
based on D.C.'s model because it has been so successful.
    Mayor Bowser. Amazing. Thank you.
    Ms. Stansbury. So, I want to thank you for your service, 
and I want to thank all of you who are here today for 
everything you do for our city.
    Mayor Bowser. Thank you.
    Ms. Stansbury. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The gentlelady yields. The Chair recognizes 
Ms. Greene from Georgia for five minutes.
    Ms. Greene. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think we should all 
refresh our memories today and remember history and who has 
caused the political violence here in Washington, DC. by 
remembering how many times D.C. Metro Police were deployed for 
dangerous riots, in 2020, where Antifa and BLM rioters 
violently raged continuously, even nearly burning down the 
city, hundreds of police officers were injured, and rioters 
destroyed millions of dollars in property. Riots went to such 
extreme levels in Lafayette Park, that Secret Service forced 
President Trump into the White House bunker. But all of the 
extreme left-wing violence did not just start in 2020. No, it 
started in 2017 on President Trump's inauguration day. But all 
you hear about is a three-hour riot on one single day, January 
6, 2021. So, let us talk about violent criminals and justice.
    Chief Contee, you have said what we have got to do if we 
really want to see homicides go down is keep bad guys with guns 
in jail. When they are in jail, they cannot be in communities 
shooting people. Keep violent people in jail. Is that right? 
Yes or no.
    Chief Contee. Yes.
    Ms. Greene. Thank you. Mayor Bowser, do you agree with 
Chief Contee? Yes or no?
    Mayor Bowser. Yes, until people serve their sentence.
    Ms. Greene. Yes. You agree they should stay in jail. Thank 
you very much, Mayor. Mr. Graves, you are the U.S. attorney for 
the District of Columbia. You have the unique ability to 
prosecute both local and Federal cases. However, Mr. Graves, 
your office has declined to prosecute 67 percent of those 
arrested in 2022, which means they cannot stay in jail like 
Chief Contee is demanding after his police officers do the hard 
work of arresting these criminals. Instead, you are solely 
focused on prosecuting January 6 cases from one single day in 
our history.
    Meanwhile, D.C. crime is up. Total crime is up 27 percent 
from last year. Carjacking up 114 percent. Murders up 11 
percent. Sexual abuse is up 45 percent. Property crime is up 30 
percent. And just yesterday morning, a little innocent 12-year-
old girl was shot while sleeping in her own bed by another 
rampant violent criminal who has probably been previously 
arrested and not prosecuted. What do you think a resident in 
Anacostia is more afraid of, their child catching a stray 
bullet on Monday or a grandma walking through the Capitol more 
than two years ago?
    Mr. Graves, your decision to not prosecute 67 percent of 
the crimes in D.C. is absolutely criminal itself. People who 
were charged with murder had been arrested on average 11 times 
before because you refused to keep them in jail like Chief 
Contee is demanding. You have already abused your position by 
maliciously prosecuting at least 1,000 people from January 6, 
but you recently announced that you are going to arrest at 
least 1,000 more.
    Let me remind everyone the manner in which you go about 
your January 6 prosecutions. A man named Matthew Perna, who had 
no criminal record, peacefully entered the Capitol through an 
open door on January 6. He stayed inside roughly 20 minutes. He 
did not assault anyone, not a police officer, anyone. He did 
not damage any property. He fully cooperated with the FBI and 
eventually pled guilty to all charges. But right before his 
sentencing, you, Mr. Graves, asked the judge for more time to 
object to the presentence report, by the way, while you were 
not prosecuting many of the crimes in D.C. This was so that you 
could ask for at least a few more years in prison for the guy 
that walked around in the Capitol for 20 minutes not assaulting 
anyone. And this is what you have done repeatedly over and over 
for those who have pled or have been convicted on January 6. 
Well, two weeks later, Matthew Perna hung himself in his 
garage. Mr. Graves, he was 37 years old. On March 9, 2022, you 
dropped the case against Matthew Perna because he was dead.
    The time for weaponizing the Department of Justice needs to 
come to an end. And because you refuse to prosecute real 
criminals that are violating all the crimes here in Washington, 
DC. and you want to talk about D.C. residents, they are victims 
of your abuse of power. And because of that, I am introducing 
articles of impeachment on you, Mr. Graves, and I yield back 
the remainder of my time.
    Chairman Comer. The gentlelady yields back. Before we 
recognize Ms. Mace for five minutes, I request unanimous 
consent for the Representative from Georgia, Mr. Clyde, to be 
waived onto the Committee for purpose of questioning. Without 
objection, so ordered.
    The Chair recognizes Ms. Mace for five minutes.
    Ms. Mace. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank our 
witnesses for being with us today, and crime is rampant in our 
Nation's capital. It is rampant and out of control like many 
other cities in the United States during COVID, and now after, 
crime is up significantly. In D.C., I read that homicides are 
up by nine percent since last year. In fact, there have been 
more homicides in the first 120 days of 2023 than in the same 
period of any year in the past decade. We are starting summer, 
so tourism is going to be up. Violent crime consistently peaks 
from around the country this time of year as well. At the same 
time, the D.C. police force has lost a net of 450 officers over 
the last three years or almost 15 percent of the workforce.
    Mayor Bowser, I do want to recognize what you have done to 
get bonuses and try to hire police officers to the force. I, 
myself, have been a victim of some crime here in D.C., not 
once, but twice now since I have come up here. And, you know, 
we see this kind of thing around the country, and it is very 
important that we address it. And we can only leave to the 
imagination the kind of impression that the rampant crime that 
is up here in D.C. leaves on the country to folks who come here 
from around the country and around the world to see the United 
States' capital. We have foreign dignitaries, we have tourists, 
and we want to project strength and peace and safety for folks 
who are out here. D.C.'s out-of-control crime must be taken 
seriously and must be addressed as swiftly as we can.
    My first question today goes to Mr. Graves, and I have a 
few yes or no questions. Mr. Graves, do you think the D.C. 
Council's crime bill that I voted to override in this chamber 
would have led to an increased officer retention and hiring? 
Yes or no.
    Mr. Graves. Increased officer retention or hiring was the 
question?
    Ms. Mace. Yes. Would it have led to better officer 
retention and hiring? Yes or no.
    Mr. Graves. I am not sure it would have impacted one way or 
another. I do not know.
    Ms. Mace. Yes or no, do you think the public should be 
aware of the crime happening around their neighborhoods and 
take it seriously?
    Mr. Graves. So, we are very much focused on community 
safety. Part of our community safety----
    Ms. Mace. Yes or no, the question was, the public should be 
aware of crime happening in their neighborhoods.
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Ms. Mace. OK. So, you agree. It is a good thing when a 
citizen reports something they saw, like see something, say 
something?
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Ms. Mace. Yes.
    Mr. Graves. We generally want our community members to 
report crime of which they are aware.
    Ms. Mace. Right. So, a couple of days ago at the D.C. 
Safety Summit, you said just going out there and kind of fear-
mongering and making broad claims that are not borne out of 
data is not helpful, and I think we unfortunately see that from 
non-traditional media sometimes. So yes or no, do you think 
having this hearing today is fearmongering in D.C.?
    Mr. Graves. So, I----
    Ms. Mace. Yes or no, do you think that this hearing is 
fearmongering in D.C. based on your comments from a few days 
ago?
    Mr. Graves. So, it is not a yes or no.
    Ms. Mace. Yes or no. Is this an, ``I do not know?''
    Mr. Graves. I can answer your question, Congresswoman, but 
it is not a yes or no question.
    Ms. Mace. It is. I asked it. Yes or no, do you believe it 
is the job of a prosecutor to represent the government and to 
prosecute crimes on its behalf?
    Mr. Graves. Yes.
    Ms. Mace. Interesting. So, then why are you bringing only a 
third of the cases brought to you? Why is the D.C. police, 
Chief Contee, literally calling bullshit on your excuses for 
not prosecuting 67 percent of arrests? Was he fearmongering?
    Mr. Graves. So----
    Ms. Mace. Is your Chief of Police fearmongering when he 
calls B.S. on your prosecutors?
    Mr. Graves. Of course, our Chief of Police is not 
fearmongering, but I think you are making quotes out of 
context, and if I could provide the context----
    Ms. Mace. No, I am not interested, and I am using your 
words directly verbatim from you. I want to finish with this, 
this afternoon. D.C. is a lot like Charleston. It is a city 
that has a lot of charm. It is a city by which many Americans 
judge our country. We have high rate of tourism in Charleston, 
South Carolina, and Charleston takes its crime seriously and 
has built a community that many want to visit, many want to 
join, just like Washington, DC. But the same cannot be said of 
D.C., which saddens many of us here today. And I want to 
recognize the Mayor, again, for your efforts with your police 
force. To add more police, more needs to be done, and I am sure 
that you recognize that as well. Thank you, and I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The gentlelady yields back.
    Mayor Bowser. Mr. Chairman, is it possible for me to 
respond to tourism issues?
    Chairman Comer. Go ahead, briefly.
    Mayor Bowser. Yes. So, it has been mentioned by a few 
Members concern about tourists, and tourism is not about fun 
and games in D.C. It is a real part of our bottom line, and 
welcoming visitors to our city allows us to make the types of 
investments that we are proud of. We are very proud that we are 
rebounding from a pre-COVID in the number of people visiting 
the District of Columbia from around our region, from around 
the country. And increasingly, international travel is up, and 
we know with better visa management, we will see even more 
travelers coming from around the world. So, people should not 
be concerned about our tourism numbers. They are on the rise. 
We remain concerned about business travel, so we want everybody 
who wants to come and call on the Congress about this issue or 
that to visit Washington, DC. to do that as well.
    Chairman Comer. Good to hear. The Chair recognizes Mr. 
Donalds from Florida.
    Mr. Donalds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mayor Bowser, good to 
see you. Chief Contee, it has been a while. You have not been 
back for two years or so. It is good to see you. Mr. Donahue 
first time. Mr. Graves, bro, you need to do your job. I mean, 
let us just be very clear. You know, obviously, you have a 
responsibility to the residents of the District, and in a 
myriad of ways I think, you know, my colleague talked about 
that in some heavy detail there. But if you are not going to do 
the job of actually standing behind Chief Contee and the work 
that his men and women do with the Metropolitan Police 
Department, and you are selling them down a river and with 
them, the residents of D.C. and even the tourists that come to 
D.C. But, you know, they are the ones that live here. They ride 
the bus, they get on the metro, they are going to school, they 
are going to work and, well, everybody wants to just to be 
safe, and you are not holding up your end of the bargain. I 
have seen MPD all over D.C. They are all here every single day. 
It is not--they are here. It is very clear when they are on a 
scene, but you are not doing your job, so I just find it to be 
disgusting, frankly. Just uphold the law, enforce the law, and 
that actually will make the job easier for the Chief and for 
the Mayor to do their jobs.
    Mayor Bowser, real quick. You know, when the Oversight 
Committee was investigating January 6, you were not here. I do 
not know what was going on, so no need to go down that road. 
But I really had a question about--you requested the National 
Guard troops on December 31, 2020. Is that correct?
    Mayor Bowser. That sounds right, but I would want to 
confirm the date.
    Mr. Donalds. That is fine. That is fine. Based upon any 
recollection that you have, what was the rationale for 
requesting National Guard troops?
    Mayor Bowser. We wanted to make sure that our city blocks 
were protected. We were in that transition week, so the chiefs 
decided that we wanted to create a traffic box around certain 
parts of our downtown, and the best use of resources would be 
National Guard on instead of MPD so that MPD could be available 
for law enforcement. So, that was our request.
    Mr. Donalds. OK. So, a quick follow-up to that because, you 
know, I remember it, having gone through orientation here, 
before I got sworn in as a Member of Congress, that during that 
time period, you know, to the pandemic and everything else, 
there was no traffic in D.C., not like it is today. Like, 
nobody was driving through the streets of D.C. during that time 
period, and this is a legitimate question. Was the concerns 
purely traffic corridors in the District for the date of 
January 6?
    Mayor Bowser. Let me ask the Chief to talk about how we 
used to wait for----
    Mr. Donalds. Sure, Chief Contee, if you can. That would be 
great.
    Chief Contee. Yes. So, the traffic is part of the concern. 
You know, certainly when we create traffic boxes, and, you 
know, we expected a lot of people in our city, we do not want 
to mix people and cars. So, creating that space where for 
people who are expressing their First Amendment rights to 
peacefully be in the street, on the sidewalk or whatever, and 
not have or not be hindered by cars and buses moving about----
    Mr. Donalds. Well, Chief, I just want to reclaim my time.
    Chief Contee. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Donalds. There is no disrespect to what you are saying, 
and my coughing, no disrespect either.
    Chief Contee. No worries.
    Mr. Donalds. So, real quick. Now, in a letter that was sent 
on January 5, Mayor Bowser, you stated that the National Guard 
that you ``are accepting the support,'' but you wanted them to 
be in an unarmed capacity. Is that correct, or, Chief Contee, 
can you corroborate that? Is that correct?
    Chief Contee. Yes.
    Mr. Donalds. OK. All right, and I thank you for that. It is 
some of the things that we just want to clarify, and I think 
here is the overarching point. And to be frank, honestly, Mayor 
Bowser, just really got nothing to do with you. I think this is 
just a general point of what happened, when, and why. Actually, 
last question for you. When your requests for National Guard 
troops were, obviously, they were answered, and you were given 
whatever you needed. Is that correct?
    Mayor Bowser. We were given, I believe, some of what we 
requested.
    Mr. Donalds. OK. Were there any limits that came from the 
Secretary of the Army?
    Mayor Bowser. Yes.
    Mr. Donalds. OK. Can anybody stipulate what that was?
    Chief Contee. Yes, a couple of things. Well, first of all, 
the limitation was we could not move--we could not change their 
assignments without first receiving approval from the Secretary 
of the Army. We could not move National Guard members anywhere 
East of 9th Street, Northwest. We could not move them there. 
And then another thing we wanted was a quick reaction force 
members of the National Guard to be able to respond. I do not 
think we received that resource either.
    Mr. Donalds. OK.
    Chief Contee. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Donalds. All right. Last point I will make, Mr. 
Chairman, and I know I am slightly over my time. One thing it 
was clear in previous testimony in this Committee, corroborated 
by this testimony today, is that, you know, troops from 
National Guard were authorized by the President at the time, 
Donald Trump, on January 4. They were authorized. It was 
testified in this Committee they were authorized. D.C. was able 
to take advantage of them in the capacity that D.C. wanted to, 
save for the couple of requests that you also wanted.
    One thing it is important to indicate, Mr. Chairman, is 
that for National Guard troops to be deployed to the capital, 
it requires a Capitol Police board to actually issue a state of 
emergency for troops to come on capital grounds. And the police 
board is made up of the Architect of the Capitol, the head of 
Senate security, the head of House security, and the Chief of 
the Capitol Police. And by my understanding, three of those 
four people report to the Speaker of the House, and the Speaker 
of the House at that time was Nancy Pelosi.
    So, when we want to talk about National Guard being here 
and the timetable of them getting here, it is important to 
understand that there were National Guard in the District of 
Columbia, and their limitation of coming to the Capitol was not 
due to anybody else because the President is not authorized to 
deploy troops to the Capitol, separation of powers. It is at 
the hands of the Speaker of the House, and with that, I yield, 
and I apologize for being a minute and 24 over.
    Chairman Comer. The gentleman yields back. The Chair 
recognizes Mr. Sessions from Texas for five minutes.
    Mr. Sessions. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. And 
Chairman Comer, I want to thank you for your not only meeting 
with at least Republicans before this hearing, but expressing 
your confidence that you believe that we could have a 
thoughtful meeting today with the Representatives that would be 
here, and that the words of confidence that you spoke with the 
Mayor about her job and how this Committee could thoughtfully 
have a conversation today. It is my hope we will continue to 
have that conversation.
    I recognize you have been here a number of hours, each of 
you, and thank you. Some of the points that we have heard is 
that people on our side, we are Republicans, do not care about 
Washington, DC, that we do not take time to come and walk the 
streets and talk to people. Well, perhaps there could be some 
evidence of that, but also, my parents for over 20 years lived 
here. And my mother and my father both engaged Washington, DC. 
elected officials and I believe tried to provide feedback, and 
they did to my parents, and I was a part of those 
conversations. And I would like to say that there is great 
confidence that we want to have in working with you, and I 
think that is evidenced by you being here today.
    Mayor, I serve as the Subcommittee Chairman for Government 
Operations. And we have been in discussions and intend to have 
conversations with the Federal Government about bringing people 
back to work. I do not need to go through the facts of the case 
today, but the bottom line is the Federal Government is 
lagging, in our opinion, of getting people back to work. Back 
to work is, I think, not just healthy, but we have so many 
problems with passports, and government, the IRS, a lot of 
other agencies in performance of their duties that are 
necessary to the American people, so we will be doing that.
    I want to just perhaps provide some context. We have just 
come off being in the Minority for four years. We had an 
opportunity when we were in the Minority to help work and 
craft. Our colleagues sometimes let us and sometimes shared and 
sometimes did not share so well. But the agenda was definitely 
on the side of the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and those who would 
be chairmen of committees. Their agenda is virtually our agenda 
today. That is, that we are trying to make sure that the city 
of Washington, DC. has a relationship with us whereby we 
provide feedback, and we try and look at the things that are 
done together.
    We do recognize running this city is hard. We do recognize, 
however, or believe that just like the bipartisan piece of 
legislation that we did, where we disagreed with the D.C. City 
Council, could not have come at a worse time based upon the 
assault on one of our Members, and that created an era of 
lawlessness in this city. Please know this: we would like to 
work with you. However, we would like for you to have an equal 
knowledge that marijuana in its simplest form is an addictive 
problem. And your Members, D.C. Members, and your people who 
are in your police force, and others should recognize that 
there are things being mixed in marijuana. There are 
hallucinogens, there are problems that we have, and you are 
going to keep having violent crime if you keep having the 
positions that you take on allowing marijuana to be openly 
smoked because it is easily infiltrated so to speak.
    It can be changed, but it, all by itself, is an addictive, 
dangerous product, and there is more than enough national 
information now here. It creates a psychosis. It creates a lot 
of real problems. Who are the losers in this? Women and 
children. Women and children get the brunt of this problem, and 
I would like to just face all four of you and say, you need to 
tell the truth. You need to tell people the truth because they 
know it, and you will keep being that drug haven, a crime 
haven, and a gun haven if you continue how you approach drugs 
in the city of Washington, DC. I am very open to allowing you--
you do not have to at this forum--but that engagement and 
expect it to come from the Government Operations Subcommittee, 
the engagement on public safety, and the safety of women and 
children.
    Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for the time. I know I am 
over. My special thanks to all four of you for taking time to 
respectfully, thoughtfully take time to articulate your ideas 
with a group of people who care about you. I yield back my 
time.
    Chairman Comer. The gentleman yields back. The Chair 
recognizes Mr. Clyde for five minutes.
    Mr. Clyde. Thank you, Chairman Comer, for letting me 
participate today. I greatly appreciate this opportunity. Mayor 
Bowser, you vetoed the Revised Criminal Code Act passed by the 
D.C. City Council, correct?
    Mayor Bowser. Correct.
    Mr. Clyde. All right. And I assume it was because you 
disagreed with several of the soft-on-crime provisions that the 
D.C. Council included in the legislation. Is that correct?
    Mayor Bowser. I outlined my objections.
    Mr. Clyde. OK.
    Mayor Bowser. And I also submitted an amendment that would 
address my objection to the D.C. Council.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. Thank you. As I recall, you stated that the 
Revised Criminal Code Act ``does not make us safer,'' and I 
have to say that I agree with you. And I am pleased that 
Congress passed my resolution, H.J. Res. 26, to nullify that 
misguided bill, and I am grateful that with President Biden's 
signature, we prevented the radical RCCA from becoming law. 
Mayor Bowser, I noticed that you did not veto the Comprehensive 
Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act, but you 
did not sign it either, correct?
    Mayor Bowser. That is correct.
    Mr. Clyde. All right. So, as I understand it, the police 
reform, and let us call it that, legislation moved forward 
without your signature.
    Mayor Bowser. That is correct.
    Mr. Clyde. All right. So, why did you not sign it or veto 
it?
    Mayor Bowser. I did not sign it because I knew that we 
would have to revisit some of the provisions with the council. 
I have been Mayor eight years; I think I vetoed eight bills. 
So, there may be in all of the legislation that has gone 
through, and I have signed or not signed in those years, things 
that I agree with or things that I do not. I sometimes will 
leave my signature off if I know that I am going to have to 
revisit a provision with the council.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. Well, thank you. Well, you know, I think 
that maybe the folks of the city and those of us who actually 
do vote, do not find it acceptable that you do not take a stand 
on what a piece of legislation says. You do not approve it. You 
do not disapprove it.
    Mayor Bowser. No, actually----
    Mr. Clyde. No, let me finish. Let me finish. So, earlier in 
this hearing, Mayor Bowser, you said that there is no greater 
supporter of the Metro Police Department than you. And so, by 
not signing this bill or not vetoing it, you consider yourself 
the greatest supporter of the Metro Police Department. Chief 
Contee, would you agree with that statement, that the Mayor is 
the greatest supporter or no greater supporter in the city----
    Chief Contee. I have been dealing with this mayor for the 
last eight years that she has been Mayor, and she is a great 
supporter of our law enforcement officers.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. I think that is a pretty low bar, Chief. 
Now, Attorney Graves, United States Attorney Graves, question 
for you, sir. Representative Mace said earlier, she asked the 
question, should communities be made aware of the crime in 
their neighborhood, and you said yes, affirmatively. Am I 
correct?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, we believe in transparency.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. Great. I agree with you. All right. In 2016, 
the Department of Justice provided Senator Grassley with 
criminal prosecution data from 2010 to 2015. This is the actual 
letter right here. And it says in response to your request for 
the data regarding arrests for offenses of homicide, rape, 
robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle 
theft, and arson, ``we have provided the data for the D.C. Code 
offenses that best corresponds to your request.'' So, will you 
commit here today to providing the prosecution statistics, 
exactly as you did to Senator Grassley, to this Committee for 
the last seven years, 2016 through 2020?
    Mr. Graves. So, I am generally familiar with the letter, 
but it actually was issued at a time when I was not in the 
office.
    Mr. Clyde. That is fine.
    Mr. Graves. I can tell you what we are planning on doing.
    Mr. Clyde. Well, just, I mean, you can do this, right? I 
mean, you have the statistics to do it. Are you willing to do 
it? I want to see the criminal statistics, the prosecution 
statistics from 2016 to 2022. Will you provide it?
    Mr. Graves. I understand the question. I would explain what 
we are planning on doing. So, the challenge that our office has 
historically faced is a lot of this data is not readily 
available because of our antiquated systems, so we have had to 
manually pull the information. I have hired a data scientist so 
that we can more effectively do it. We are going to start 
monthly publishing of our prosecutorial statistics.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. So, you will go back to 2016 through 2022 
and provide it to this Committee?
    Mr. Graves. So, we are going to do it real time going 
forward.
    Mr. Clyde. Right. Fantastic. But will you do it for 2016 
through 2022? That is my question to you.
    Mr. Graves. So----
    Mr. Clyde. Yes or no would suffice.
    Mr. Graves. I want to see the data, and look, these are 
tradeoffs. If we are going to go back and do this historical 
analysis that we have to do by hand, I have to take people away 
from current prosecutions in order to do a historical analysis. 
I am focused on where the numbers are because that informs me 
on prosecutorial strategy.
    Mr. Clyde. It also tells us where you are and how 
successful you have been, or what you decide to do or not to do 
when it comes to prosecutions. Will you provide this 
information to the Committee?
    Mr. Graves. So, of course, we are happy to look into the 
request if we can review the letter and see what we can pull 
together.
    Mr. Clyde. Happy to provide you a copy of the letter, and 
you will provide us the statistics.
    Mr. Clyde. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. The gentlemen's time has expired, and feel 
free to answer the question.
    Mr. Graves. So, we of course want to provide any 
information to the Committee that would be helpful to in its 
oversight exercises.
    Mr. Clyde. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chairman Comer. That concludes our questioning portion. 
Now, I yield to the Ranking Member for brief closing remarks.
    Mr. Raskin. Thank you, kindly, Mr. Chairman. Mayor Bowser, 
thank you; and Chief Contee, U.S. Attorney Graves, and Mr. 
Donahue. And I want to thank so many residents of Washington, 
D.C., who have turned out today. And I thank them for their 
democratic patience as they await approval of their petition 
for statehood. And I see that one of the statehood senators for 
the District of Columbia is here, Paul Strauss, and I want to 
thank him for being here.
    Mr. Chairman, this hearing was about governance, then 
everything that I heard from the witnesses argues for 
statehood, which is how we put people on a plane of equality 
and political self-government in America. And so, statehood is 
an imperative of basic democratic values, but also of 
governmental efficiency. And we have heard a lot of criticism 
today of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's 
Office, I have not heard much about the D.C. government.
    The people of Washington, DC. do not control their own 
judges, they do not elect judges, the way lots of people do in 
different states and jurisdictions, they do not elect the 
prosecutors who prosecute felony crimes. So, much of the 
questioning was about that. That is going to a Federal 
official. And without regard to the merits of those particular 
complaints, they just do not relate to the people of D.C.
    But if D.C. became a state, as they are seeking to do, like 
37 other states have done, have been admitted since the 
founding of the Republic, then they will be completely 
responsible for the crime situation, the prisons, prosecution, 
and so on, except for those things--that minority of crimes 
that are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney. But if this was a 
hearing about crime, then what I have heard from multiple 
people is that it should not just focus on one city, it should 
focus on all the cities and towns in all of the states of 
America.
    And that means that we have to confront gun violence, which 
is in fact, a crime. Yes, if you want to be tough on crime, 
then you have got to be tough on gun violence. If you want to 
be soft on gun violence, then you are soft on crime. Because we 
are losing thousands of our people every year to the nightmare 
of gun violence, which is now causing foreign governments to 
issue travel advisory warnings for people to come to the United 
States, saying that we have a gun violence problem that is 
dangerous.
    The statehood petition, which Congresswoman Norton has 
introduced, makes all the sense in the world. It has Congress 
using our power under Article I, Section 8, Clause 17, the 
District Clause Power, to modify the boundaries of the Federal 
District.
    Congress did that in 1846, right before the Civil War, 
apparently, according to historians, at the behest of slave 
masters in Virginia, who were nervous that slavery was going to 
be abolished in the District of Columbia, the slave traffic 
and, in fact, they were right about that. And you know who the 
person was pushing for the abolition of the slave traffic in 
the District of Columbia, was the founder of the Chairman's 
party, Abraham Lincoln, in his single term in the House of 
Representatives, that was the main thing he was doing, trying 
to abolish slavery in the Nation's capital. But the slave 
masters of Virginia, they feared it, and they got Congress to 
retrocede all of the land in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax 
County back to the Commonwealth of Virginia, which established 
precisely the precedent that is being invoked here, which is 
Congress has the power to modify the boundaries of the Federal 
District.
    And if we had the power to do it in the 19th century, to 
protect the slave masters, certainly, we have the power to do 
it in the 21st century, to vindicate the democratic rights of 
the people of Washington, DC. That is the real historical 
imperative here, and we should work on crime as a national 
problem. I want to thank the Mayor and the Chief for everything 
that they are doing in Washington and the U.S. attorney, for 
everything they are doing in D.C. There are things that the 
other states can learn from D.C. and certainly things that D.C. 
can learn from the other states. But crime should never be an 
opportunity to demonize and vilify a whole population of 
American citizens and their leadership.
    But I think the mayor, you have led a very distinguished 
team of officials here and acquitted yourself beautifully in 
explaining all of the great progress that has been happening in 
Washington, not just in terms of crime, but in terms of other 
public policies too.
    So, thank you for coming in. And thank you once again, for 
rising to the defense of the Union and the Republic on January 
6, and we absolutely need to give the District of Columbia 
power over its National Guard. We would have been a lot safer, 
had you been deploying the National Guard when you deployed the 
Metropolitan Police Department three hours before the President 
of the United States did.
    I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Comer. The gentleman yields back.
    And, again, I want to thank the witnesses for being here. I 
think this was a very substantive Committee hearing. Mayor, as 
I said in our earlier meeting, I pledge to work with you. The 
Majority on this Committee wants to work with you. We want to 
see Washington, DC. grow, prosper, and be one of the safest 
cities on the planet.
    This Committee has a history of Republican Chairs, working 
with democrat mayors for the betterment of Washington, DC. You 
go back to Tom Davis, when he was Chairman of this Committee, 
Jason Chaffetz, even Mark Meadows, worked closely with democrat 
mayors, because, as I stated in our opener, this Committee is 
tasked with jurisdiction over Washington, DC.
    We all spend, I guess, now a majority of our time in 
Washington, DC, for our jobs. So, obviously, we have a vested 
interest in seeing the Washington city grow and prosper and be 
safe. Chief, we want to thank you for your service. We 
appreciate the service of you and your colleagues. And we 
pledge to do whatever we can to help you be successful.
    And, Mr. Graves, as you have heard criticism from this side 
of the aisle, crime is a priority for this Committee. Crime is 
one of the issues that we campaigned on, to flip the House, to 
take the House from Democrat Majority to Republican Majority. 
We are not satisfied with your job performance in Washington, 
DC. We have seen the statistics. We have seen the data. It is 
just not--one of the problems with the crime in America is we 
have prosecutors who are behind or sympathetic or liberal or 
lazy or whatever, maybe even do not have the resources to 
effectively keep up with prosecutions.
    We have played the video before, the Chief issuing a 
statement with a gaggle of reporters, someone had been arrested 
over 10 times, I believe, and let out and they are still on the 
street committing crimes. This is unacceptable. It is 
unacceptable in Washington, DC. It is unacceptable in 
Louisville, Kentucky. It is unacceptable anywhere in America. 
So, we hope that if there is something this Committee can do to 
help increase the prosecutions in Washington, DC, please let us 
know. We want to see that happen.
    And Mayor, just from listening to the Committee, listening 
to your testimony, I know you said several things that caught 
my attention. The taxing of marijuana, for example, I did not 
know what the law was on that. We are researching that, know 
that you have a lot of big issues coming forward, opportunities 
in Washington, DC, a new arena. I know that would require some 
type of legislative assistance.
    That is something that we would pledge to work with you and 
your office on, something that I think would be beneficial to 
the city. Certainly, legislation to help keep criminals in 
jail. We want to hold criminals accountable for wrongdoing. 
That is going to be a priority for this House Majority, not 
just in Washington, DC, as I said, but all over America.
    And last, the SHOW UP Act which we supported. I was the 
primary sponsor, we had Democrat opposition to this bill. But I 
think, Mr. Donahue, this would help the whole city of 
Washington, DC.--you have a ripple effect of businesses that 
are suffering. I understand commercial real estate occupancy is 
down. It all pertains to the business model in downtown 
Washington, built around a bunch of Federal employees showing 
up for work every day. We want to see those Federal employees 
go back to work, Mayor. That is why we passed the SHOW UP Act 
and would welcome your active support with Senator Schumer in 
the Senate.
    So, I think there is a great opportunity to work together, 
this Committee and the Mayor's office, the Chief, the U.S. 
Attorney, City Administrator. We want to see that happen. And I 
look forward to that relationship moving forward.
    With that and without objection, all Members will have five 
legislative days within which to submit materials and to submit 
additional written questions for the witnesses, which will be 
forwarded to the witnesses for their response.
    If there is no further business, without objection, the 
Committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:33 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]