Congress demands a complete inventory of federal crimes—and their enforcement record.
H.R. 2159 — Count the Crimes to Cut Act · Filed by Chip Roy (R-TX) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 14, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill requires the Attorney General and 34 federal agencies to compile and publish a comprehensive inventory of all federal criminal offenses—both statutory crimes and regulatory violations carrying criminal penalties—including their elements, penalties, prosecution history over 15 years, and mens rea (intent) requirements. Within two years, these agencies must make this information freely accessible online in a searchable index.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a mandate to inventory and publish federal criminal law and enforcement data. It creates no new law, imposes no restrictions, and serves no private interest—it is a transparency and accountability measure designed to inform public and congressional debate.
What the text implies
- Compilation may reveal significant disparities in prosecution rates across agencies and offense categories, potentially exposing selective enforcement patterns or prosecutorial discretion gaps.
- Public index of all federal crimes may highlight the scope of federal criminal law expansion over decades, fueling legislative debate about overcriminalization and regulatory overreach.
- Data on mens rea requirements may expose inconsistencies in intent standards across federal statutes, creating pressure for statutory harmonization or reform.
- 15-year prosecution history will show which crimes are actively enforced vs. dormant, potentially identifying obsolete or rarely-used statutes as candidates for repeal.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens and Congress gain transparency into the scope and enforcement of federal criminal law, enabling informed debate about overcriminalization and prosecutorial discretion. The bill imposes no new restrictions on rights, creates no new crimes, and does not shield wrongdoing—it is purely informational and accountability-focused.
Named in the bill
Attorney General, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation — and 8 more
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
- Mar 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 14, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
- Jun 10, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jun 10, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Voice Vote”
- Dec 1, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4923)”
- Dec 1, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Roy moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
4 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $260,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 14 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.
Chip Roy, the sponsor, reported $68,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Prison Fellowship Ministries — $170,000 on 2 filings
- Prison Fellowship Ministries — $60,000 on 2 filings
- Due Process Institute — $15,000 on 1 filing
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (nacdl) — $15,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,134 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress demands a complete inventory of federal crimes—and their enforcement record.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr2159 Report an error
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