Congress controls DC crime punishments and orders youth arrest data public.

What it does

The bill changes who counts as a young offender in DC. Only people 18 and under get young offender status. People 18 to 24 will be treated as adults instead. The DC Attorney General must post a public website. It shows monthly updates of youth arrests and who was arrested. It also shows what crimes happened and court results. The bill stops the DC Council from changing crime punishments without federal approval. Sealed youth court records must be released for the website.

Who it affects

The public can see crime data on a new website. Young people ages 18 to 24 will face adult courts. The DC Council loses power to set punishments.

One thing to notice

Sealed youth records are being released to a public website. These records were kept private to help young people move forward after mistakes.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

8 cosponsors: 8 Republicans.

• Aug 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Aug 8, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”
• Sep 10, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Sep 10, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 26 - 19”
• Sep 16, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 240 - 179 (Roll no. 270). (text: CR H4333)”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 5 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $176,304 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 21 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 61% of bills with any report.

Byron Donalds, who sponsored the bill, received $66,946 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence — $80,000 in 2 reports
• The Sentencing Project — $66,304 in 2 reports
• Council of the District of Columbia — $30,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• young offender status — A legal group that lets young people get help instead of adult prison.
• sealed youth court records — Court papers about young people's crimes kept private to protect their future.
• DC Council — The group of elected leaders who make laws for Washington, DC.
• punishments — What a judge gives after someone is found guilty of a crime.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.