House Judiciary Committee Releases Video on Solutions to Rein in Explosion of Federal Criminal Law

Washington, D.C.  – The House Judiciary Committee released a new video on its legislative solutions to rein in the explosion of federal criminal law, commonly referred to as over-criminalization. Last month, the House Judiciary Committee approved four bills by voice vote to address this problem: the Criminal Code Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 4002), the Fix the Footnotes Act of 2015 (H.R. 4001), the Regulatory Reporting Act of 2015 (H.R. 4003), and the Clean Up the Code Act of 2015 (H.R. 4023). The approval of over-criminalization bills is one component of the Committee’sbipartisan criminal justice reform initiative. Watch the video to learn more about these bills.   Below is a transcript of the video:Chairman Goodlatte: Members of the House Judiciary Committee have introduced several bills to rein in the explosion of federal criminal law, commonly referred to as over-criminalization. Congresswoman Mimi Walters: The United States Code currently contains nearly 5,000 federal crimes. It’s estimated that about 60 new federal crimes are enacted each year. Congressman Steve Chabot: Accompanied by hundreds of thousands of implementing regulations – many of which, if violated, can also result in criminal liability. Congressman Ken Buck: Many of these laws and regulations impose criminal penalties on people who have no idea they are violating a law. Chairman Goodlatte: We’ve introduced the Criminal Code Improvement Act to create a default mens rea standard. This generally means that in order to be charged with a crime, it must be proved that the person intended to commit the crime. Congresswoman Mimi Walters: We’ve introduced legislation to rein in regulatory overreach. The Regulatory Reporting Act requires every federal agency to submit a report to Congress listing its rules that may be punishable by criminal penalties, so that Congress can determine whether they are necessary. Congressman Steve Chabot: We’ve put forth a bill to eliminate several unnecessary laws that contain trivial criminal provisions, such as the unauthorized use of the 4-H emblem or the interstate transportation of dentures. Congressman Ken Buck: We’ve sponsored legislation that fixes footnotes in the current version of the Criminal Code to address errors in drafting our Federal criminal laws. Every word is important when Americans’ liberty is at stake. Chairman Goodlatte: These bills are just one component of the Committee’s bipartisan criminal justice reform initiative. To learn more about how we are improving our nation’s laws, visit judiciary.house.gov.