WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and the Senate’s only former public defender, joined U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) in introducing the Count the Crimes to Cut Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing the outdated federal criminal code.  

“Meaningful criminal justice reform requires more than good intentions—it takes a serious examination of what’s already on the books,” said Senator Welch. “Congress has a responsibility to understand the full scope of the federal criminal code to promote public safety. This bipartisan legislation will increase transparency, reduce overcriminalization, and ensure due process in our criminal justice system.”  

“Our federal criminal code is massively over-inflated, with thousands of crimes making it impossible for anyone to fully understand the criminal liability they face,” said Senator Lee. “We cannot fix what we refuse to measure, and this bill ensures Congress and the public have the facts necessary to make smarter, safer policy decisions.” 

“We need to reexamine the sprawling system of federal crimes and penalties tucked into new laws and inserted into old ones that Congress has created over decades,” said Senator Coons. “This bipartisan, commonsense bill will create a database of all federal crimes, so lawmakers can determine the reforms needed to make the law fairer, saner, and more effective.” 

Joining Senators Welch, Lee, and Coons on the legislation are Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Roger Wicker (R-Mo.). 

Currently, the full scope of criminal liability remains unknown to citizens, businesses, and even lawmakers, as there is no complete, accessible list of all federal crimes. The federal code includes thousands of offenses. This bipartisan bill, which already passed the House of Representatives by voice vote as H.R. 2159, restores transparency and accountability to the federal criminal code. 

The Count the Crimes to Cut Act will help create a modern federal criminal code that better respects constitutional principles of federalism and ensures that federal resources are used in that way that best supports public safety. Specifically, the legislation will direct: 

• The Attorney General to report a list of all federal criminal statutory offenses, including the elements for each offense, the potential criminal penalties, prosecution data from the past 15 years, and mens rea requirements; 

• Heads of key federal agencies to conduct a report with the same requirements as the Attorney General on criminal regulatory offenses enforceable by their departments; and 

• Both the Department of Justice and agencies to establish publicly accessible online indexes of these offenses for easy reference. 

The Count the Crimes to Cut Act is endorsed by the Due Process Institute, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Federal Defenders, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National District Attorneys Association, Right on Crime, and the R Street Institute. 

Read and download the full text of the bill. 

###