The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability plans to hold a hearing later this month on D.C. crime and has requested several city officials to testify.
Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, sent letters Wednesday to D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Councilmember Charles Allen, D.C. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee and Greggory Pemberton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union. The letters state the hearing will address D.C. "crime, safety and city management."
“Congress has sent a clear message to the D.C. Council: it’s time to make our nation’s capital safe again. All Americans should feel safe in their capital city, but radical left-wing policies have led to a crime crisis and rampant homelessness," Comer said in a statement. "To examine city management and operations, I have invited members of the D.C. Council, the Chief Financial Officer, and the head of the D.C. Police Union to testify at a hearing scheduled for March 29. I look forward to their cooperation and insight as we work to improve Washington, D.C. and hold its officials accountable.”
The letters state the hearing will be held on March 29.
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Violent crime in the nation's capital has become a national issue since House Republicans led the effort to block D.C.'s revised criminal code from becoming law. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the Republican resolution, which passed the Senate in early March after passing the House in February.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Robert Contee said they have not yet received a request to testify in the hearing.
"I think we know what this House majority is about and we have gotten other requests, and we've gotten requests in the past. So, I think it's just most important we have a conversation about how to respond as the District, as a whole," Bowser told News4.
