House Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Sen. Masha Blackburn (R-Tenn. ) introduced the bills—Ending Cashless Bail in Our Nation’s Capital Act and Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act.
The push comes as concerns grow over public safety and repeat offences by released suspects, highlighted by the Aug. 22 killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte light rail.
Zarutska was killed by Decarlos Brown Jr., who has a lengthy criminal history with 14 prior cases in Charlotte, North Carolina, including felony larceny and armed robbery. He was most recently released by a judge on the sole condition that he sign a paper promising to appear in court at a later date.
In a statement, the lawmakers said the legislation would bar cashless bail policies in D.C. and block federal funding for jurisdictions that adopt cashless bail or soft-on-crime policies.
Stefanik pointed out a number of other cases that highlight the dangers of cashless bail: In August, a Guatemalan national facing four felonies and two misdemeanors was released in New York without bail, later selling drug-laced gummies that sent 12 high school students to the hospital.
In 2022, a suspect in Washington, D.C., under indictment for a near-fatal shooting of a 14-year-old was on release and then stabbed a person during an argument and fled the scene.
Stefanik said her legislation would build on President Donald Trump’s August executive orders aimed at protecting law-abiding citizens from the harms of cashless bail nationwide.
“We can’t allow arrested individuals who are awaiting trial to be released back onto the streets to commit more crimes against their communities,” Stefanik said.
The act defines offenses that pose a clear threat to public safety, including violent or sexual crimes—murder, rape, sexual assault, carjacking, robbery, burglary, and assault—as well as offenses that disrupt public order, such as looting, vandalism, property destruction, rioting, inciting a riot, and fleeing law enforcement.
After enactment, the U.S. attorney general would be barred from awarding Byrne JAG grants to any state or local jurisdiction that substantially limits cash bail for the listed offenses in the bill.
Charlotte, for example, received the largest allocation of federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funding in North Carolina for 2024, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. The city was awarded $569,529, the highest grant in the state. Other major awards in the state included Winston-Salem with $221,226, Durham with $165,017, Raleigh with $161,579, and Fayetteville with $152,764.
It would also require judges to consider a defendant’s threat to public safety when determining pretrial release conditions and would effectively end the use of cashless bail for individuals charged with violent crimes.
While the bills have garnered support from organizations like the National Association of Bail Agents and the New York State Bail Association, there is no indication of Democratic co-sponsorship or backing.
The Byrne JAG program is the federal government’s main criminal justice funding source and provides annual grants to all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories based on population and violent crime rates. Funds can be used for law enforcement, courts, corrections, technology upgrades, drug treatment, and crime prevention.
Named for NYPD Officer Edward Byrne, killed in 1988, the program distributes hundreds of millions annually.
