Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act
Officially: “Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act” Read the full text
What it does
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1Short title
This section would let the Act be cited as the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act of 2025.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act of 2025 .
2Findings; purpose
This section lays out Congress's findings about crime and police staffing in Washington, DC, and states the Act's purpose. It finds that as of September 25, 2023, Washington, DC had recorded 24,996 crimes, up 30 percent (almost 5,400 crimes) from the same date in 2022. It finds that 197 homicides had been committed as of that date, up 29 percent from the same date in 2022 and nearly twice the total number of homicides in 2012. It finds that violent crime incidents were up more than 37 percent from the same time in 2022, including 120 reports of sexual abuse (up 1 percent) and 2,545 reports of robbery (up 65 percent). It finds that there had been 5,262 reports of motor vehicle theft, up 107 percent from the same date in 2022. It also finds that the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia has lost more than 1,200 members since 2020, that its total membership is down by 478 since 2020, and that its staffing levels are the lowest they have been in more than 50 years. The section states that the Act's purpose is to combat the rise in violent crime in the Nation's Capital by eliminating policies that place District of Columbia law enforcement personnel at risk and discourage them from serving, so that such personnel are treated equitably and fairly and their recruitment and retention increase.
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2. Findings; purpose (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) As of September 25, 2023, Washington, DC had recorded 24,996 crimes committed within the city limits, up 30 percent or almost 5,400 crimes from the same date in 2022. (2) As of September 25, 2023, 197 homicides had been committed in Washington, DC, up 29 percent from the same date in 2022 and nearly twice the total number of homicides in 2012. (3) As of September 25, 2023, violent crime incidents in Washington, DC are up over 37 percent from the same time in 2022, including 120 reports of sexual abuse (up 1 percent) and 2,545 reports of robberies (up 65 percent). (4) As of September 25, 2023, there have been 5,262 reports of motor vehicle thefts in Washington, DC, up 107 percent from the same date in 2022. (5) The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia has lost over 1,200 members since 2020. The total number of members is down 478 since 2020 and the staffing levels at the Department are the lowest they have been in over 50 years. (b) Purpose It is the purpose of this Act to combat the rise in violent crime in our Nation’s Capital by eliminating policies which place law enforcement personnel of the District of Columbia at risk and discourage them from serving, ensuring that such personnel will be treated equitably and fairly and the recruitment and retention of such personnel shall be increased.
3Restoration of equitable and fair treatment of law enforcement personnel of District of Columbia
This section would restore two things for District of Columbia law enforcement personnel. First, it would strike subsection (c) of section 1708 of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 (as that subsection was added by the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022), which would restore the right of District of Columbia law enforcement officers to negotiate matters pertaining to their discipline through collective bargaining. Second, it would repeal Subtitle M of title I of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, and any provision of law that subtitle had amended or repealed would be restored or revived as if that subtitle had never been enacted. This would restore the statute of limitations for bringing disciplinary cases against members or civilian employees of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.
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3. Restoration of equitable and fair treatment of law enforcement personnel of District of Columbia (a) Restoration of right To negotiate matters pertaining to discipline of District of Columbia law enforcement officers through collective bargaining Section 1708 of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 (sec. 1–617.08, D.C. Official Code), as amended by section 116(b) of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24–345), is amended by striking subsection (c). (b) Restoration of statute of limitations for claims against members or civilian employees of Metropolitan Police Department Subtitle M of title I of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24–345) is repealed, and any provision of law amended or repealed by such subtitle is restored or revived as if such subtitle had not been enacted into law.
Where it is
In the House.