Freedom Caucus joins progressives in rare bipartisan push targeting 'insane' federal laws
An unlikely alliance in the House of Representatives is seeking to reform the U.S. criminal justice system.The House is expected to consider a bill this week that would force the...
By Fox News · Fox News
An unlikely alliance in the House of Representatives is seeking to reform the U.S. criminal justice system. The House is expected to consider a bill this week that would force the federal government to create a vast database of existing federal criminal laws and regulations, which its supporters hope will be a stepping stone to cutting down what they see as an exceedingly cumbersome bureaucratic web. The bill is being led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, with support from Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Lucy McBath, D-Ga., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. TRUMP SIGNS BILL ENDING LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN US HISTORY It's not often that progressives can be seen teaming up with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus , but concerns like government overreach have been known to bring together unusual coalitions within Congress. "This, for me, was driven by the fact that I think we have far too many federal crimes and that the American people often don't know what they are," Roy told Fox News Digital. "There's lots of different ways in which you can be criminally liable for something you don't even know about, and that's insane." The Texas Republican said crimes like assaults, stabbings and thefts were "basic, Ten Commandments–like laws" that necessarily carried penalties — but he argued there were thousands more rules, including dictating regulatory violations, that posed issues for everyday Americans. 58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING 'LIFE AND LEGACY' OF CHARLIE KIRK "There are all sorts of regulatory things under the [Environmental Protection Agency] that frankly make criminals out of Americans by virtue of just how they engage. It might be a farmer just using their land or range or whatever. And suddenly they are a criminal," he said. "I mean, there's been people who have gone to jail for violations of, essentially, what was regulations — maybe those are all extensions off of some statute way back when, but when you have a generic statute on environmental pr…