The "Count the Crimes to Cut Act of 2025" mandates the Attorney General and heads of various federal agencies to report on and create public indexes of federal criminal offenses and regulatory violations, including penalties, prosecution numbers, and intent requirements.
Chip Roy
Representative
TX-21
The "Count the Crimes to Cut Act of 2025" mandates the Attorney General and heads of various federal agencies to compile and submit reports to Congress detailing all federal criminal statutory and regulatory offenses, including elements, penalties, prosecution numbers, and mens rea requirements. These agencies must also create publicly accessible online indexes of these offenses. This aims to increase transparency and understanding of federal criminal laws. The act does not authorize new funding.
Feds Ordered to List Every Federal Crime: New Bill Demands Public Catalog from AG, Agencies Within Two Years
This bill, the "Count the Crimes to Cut Act of 2025," kicks off a massive inventory project across the federal government. Within one year, the Attorney General and the heads of dozens of federal agencies – think everyone from the Department of Agriculture to the EPA and SEC – have to report to Congress on every single criminal offense on their books. This includes not just laws passed by Congress, but also regulations created by these agencies that carry criminal penalties.
Operation: Crime Count
So, what’s in these reports? They need to list each offense, spell out what exactly constitutes the crime (the 'elements'), state the potential penalties, and crucially, note the mens rea requirement. Mens rea is just legal speak for the mental state required – basically, did you have to intend to break the law, or could you be found guilty even if it was an accident? The reports also need to track how many times the Justice Department actually prosecuted each offense over the last 15 years, or how often agencies referred violations for prosecution. This isn't just about laws passed by Congress; agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency or the Securities and Exchange Commission have rules that, if broken, can lead to criminal charges, and those have to be cataloged too.
From Agency Files to Your Browser
The goal isn't just to pile up reports in Congress. Within two years, the Attorney General and each agency head must create a publicly accessible index of all these criminal offenses on their respective websites. Imagine a searchable database where you could theoretically look up federal crimes related to, say, operating a small business or handling specific materials. The idea is to bring transparency to the sheer volume and specifics of federal criminal law. One important detail tucked in Section 2: the bill states this huge task comes with no extra funding. Agencies will need to find the resources within their existing budgets to complete this comprehensive review and build the online indexes.