HR2159-119

What This Bill Does

The Count the Crimes to Cut Act requires a public inventory of federal criminal law. Within one year, the Attorney General must report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees every federal criminal statutory offense, the elements of each offense, the potential penalty, the number of Department of Justice prosecutions for each offense in each of the prior 15 years, and the mens rea requirement. Each listed federal agency, including departments such as Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Treasury, and independent regulators such as the FTC, FCC, SEC, EPA, CFTC, FDIC, NLRB, NRC, SBA, and FHFA, must separately report the criminal regulatory offenses it enforces, the penalty for each violation, 15 years of referrals to DOJ, and each mens rea requirement. Within two years, DOJ and each agency must publish freely accessible online indexes of the offenses. The bill explicitly provides no new authorization of appropriations.

Who Benefits and How

Criminal defendants, criminal defense attorneys, regulated businesses, compliance officers, congressional judiciary committees, legal researchers, civil-liberties organizations, sentencing reform advocates, and journalists benefit from a searchable map of criminal statutory offenses and agency-enforced criminal regulations. The indexes can show where criminal exposure exists, whether prosecutions or referrals are common, and whether an offense requires proof of intent or knowledge.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Justice, Attorney General staff, Department of Agriculture legal offices, Department of Commerce enforcement staff, Department of Health and Human Services program lawyers, Department of Homeland Security enforcement offices, Securities and Exchange Commission staff, Federal Trade Commission staff, Environmental Protection Agency enforcement offices, Small Business Administration staff, and congressional report reviewers must compile offense elements, penalties, 15 years of prosecution or referral data, mens rea standards, public indexes, and website updates without a new appropriations authorization.

Key Provisions

• Requires DOJ to report all federal criminal statutory offenses, offense elements, penalties, 15 years of prosecutions, and mens rea requirements.
• Requires listed federal agencies to report all criminal regulatory offenses they enforce, penalties, 15 years of referrals to DOJ, and mens rea requirements.
• Requires DOJ and agency public online indexes of the reported criminal offenses within two years.
• Provides the reports to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
• Bars construing the section as requiring or authorizing new appropriations.