Washington D.C. must hold some people without bail before trial.

What it does

The bill says people charged with violent crimes in Washington D.C. must stay in jail without bail. People charged with rioting, property damage, stalking, burglary, or robbery must pay cash bail. The law adds first-degree burglary and robbery to crimes requiring detention. Judges can no longer decide each case on its own facts.

Who it affects

People charged with violent crimes in Washington D.C. are affected most. Low-income people may stay in jail longer because they cannot pay bail.

One thing to notice

Judges lose power to make their own choices about who leaves jail before trial.

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

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.

• Sep 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Sep 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”
• Nov 19, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 237 - 179 (Roll no. 298).”

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 3 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $65,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 13 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

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

Elise Stefanik, who sponsored the bill, received $294,750 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Council of the District of Columbia — $30,000 in 1 report
• Conference of Provincials of North America — $20,000 in 1 report
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (nacdl) — $15,000 in 1 report

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

Words to know

• bail — Money a person pays to leave jail while waiting for trial.
• cash bail — Money paid directly to the court to get out of jail before trial.
• detention — Being held in jail.
• 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.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.