CASHLESS BAIL REPORTING ACT

On 2026-05-14, Representative Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11) delivered a floor speech titled "CASHLESS BAIL REPORTING ACT" in the House.

CASHLESS BAIL REPORTING ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)] [House] [Pages H3471-H3474] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CASHLESS BAIL REPORTING ACT Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1275, I call up the bill (H.R. 5625) to direct the Attorney General to make publicly available a list of each State and unit of local government that permits cashless bail, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1275, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered read. The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows: H.R. 5625 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Cashless Bail Reporting Act''. SEC. 2. PUBLICATION OF CASHLESS BAIL JURISDICTIONS. (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall make publicly available a list of each State and unit of local government that permits the release pending trial of a person charged with a covered offense on personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond. (b) Covered Offense Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered offense'' means a criminal offense that the Attorney General determines poses a clear threat to public safety and order, including-- (1) an offense involving a violent or sexual act, such as murder, rape, sexual assault, carjacking, robbery, burglary, and assault; and (2) an offense that promotes public disorder, such as looting, vandalism, destruction of property, rioting or inciting to riot, or fleeing from a law enforcement officer. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees. The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) will each control 30 minutes. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina. General Leave Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 5625. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina? There was no objection. Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 5625, the Cashless Bail Reporting Act. In August of 2025, the whole Nation watched in horror as we witnessed the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail. This murder took place right outside my district in a city I have called home for many years. This tragic incident cannot be described as anything other than a cold-blooded murder carried out by a dangerous individual who should not have been out on the streets to begin with. Iryna Zarutska's alleged killer, Decarlos Brown, Jr., had 14 prior arrests and had previously served a 5-year sentence for robbery with a dangerous weapon. Decarlos Brown, Jr., was out on a written promise to appear in court when he murdered Iryna Zarutska. Decarlos Brown, Jr., should not have been released on a simple written promise to appear in court given his extensive history of crime and violence. There are many aspects of public safety that must be addressed to keep our streets safer. One of the most pressing issues is bail reform. As we celebrate National Police Week and welcome many brave members of our law enforcement to the Hill, I can't help but think about how some States and local governments choose to make law enforcement officers' jobs harder and more dangerous through the laws and policies they enact. State legislatures, city councils, and rogue prosecutors have implemented radical bail laws and other policies that have worsened violent crime. These laws and policies have eliminated cash bail, restricted judges from imposing constraints on dangerous criminals, and even mandated the immediate release of criminals back into the community. Now more than ever it is important that we prioritize American citizens and support our law enforcement officers. States like Illinois, California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York have modified their bail practices to eliminate or de-emphasize the use of monetary bail systems, which has resulted in increased property and violent crimes. A March 2023 study by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that approximately 72 percent of violent felony offenders who were released without bail were later re-arrested. State and local jurisdictions must take steps to address the problems that arise with irresponsible cashless bail policies. I applaud my home State of North Carolina for passing Iryna's Law, which dealt with cashless bail, among other things. However, we cannot and should not sit and wait for more jurisdictions to experience tragedy to do something about these reckless bail policies. To be clear, bail is not a criminal fine or a punishment. It is not a reflection of a defendant's guilt or innocence. It exists to ensure the defendant will appear at all required proceedings during their criminal case. Bail is imposed after an assessment of risk, the risk that a defendant may flee from a jurisdiction, and the risk that a defendant may harm witnesses or other members of the community if they are released before trial. My bill, the Cashless Bail Reporting Act, will empower Americans with the information they need to advocate for much-needed changes. This bill simply requires the Attorney General to publish a list of each State and local jurisdiction that allows individuals charged with certain serious offenses to be released before trial either on personal recognizance or unsecured appearance bonds. This list will be made public and updated periodically to ensure Americans have accurate data on the extent of cashless bail across our country. Americans should be able to see which jurisdictions have enacted dangerous and irresponsible policies related to bail when making decisions about where to live, to work, or to travel. It also shows Americans where change is needed most. The American people deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to policies that affect public safety. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1230 Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. [[Page H3472]] Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Harris for his thoughtful remarks. I rise to support and will vote for H.R. 5625, the Cashless Bail Reporting Act, because it would simply direct the Attorney General to publish a list of State and local jurisdictions that permit cashless bail. This is already publicly available information. I just googled it. The answer seemed to come up, but it would be good to have some, perhaps, professional refinement and certification that these are actually the numbers. Mr. Speaker, National Police Week is typically an opportunity for us to bring meaningful legislation forward that will support law enforcement and help them to perform their critical, lifesaving duties because Congress wants to support and honor their work. I am not quite sure that we are living up to this high calling in this National Police Week. This bill, for example, is unobjectionable, but it doesn't do much work at all. It is hard to see how issuing a report advances community safety or justice. Given the strangely hostile rhetoric that we are hearing from our colleagues about cashless bail, I thought I would take a moment to talk about what bail is and what it is not. As the gentleman correctly states, bail is not a mechanism for punishment. In America, everybody is innocent until proven guilty. Whether you are the President, the Pope, or a pauper, you are considered to be innocent and presumed to be innocent until you have been proven guilty in a court of law, observing due process, by a jury of your peers, beyond a reasonable doubt, and with the prosecution satisfying every element of the burden of proof. People have a right to their freedom while they are preparing to stand trial, among other reasons, to get ready for trial, unless they are a flight risk or unless they pose a danger to themselves or to other people. That is basically the rule, as I understand it. In fact, that is the rule we have been using in the Federal system for more than 60 years. We have a cashless bail system under Congress in the Federal courts. There are 94 Federal district courts all across America, operating in red States, blue States, purple States, and everything in between. They all use a cashless bail system. Mr. Speaker, when a person is brought forward on an arraignment before the court, those of us who have practiced law or have been prosecutors know this process in a very familiar way. The court asks one simple question, which is: Is this person a flight risk, or do they pose a danger to themselves? They could be the richest person in the world, but if they are a flight risk, as, for example, some of the Epstein defendants clearly are--these are globetrotting criminal defendants--it shouldn't make any difference how much money you have to pay for bail. The money should be irrelevant to it. Conversely, if you are not a flight risk, if you are not a danger to the community, but you are a pauper and have no money, you should not be held simply because you can't pay $5,000, or whatever the bai

Referenced legislation: HRES1275, HRES1275, HR5625