Count the Crimes to Cut Act
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Would require the Justice Department and 35 named federal agencies to catalog every federal criminal offense — both statutory crimes and regulations enforceable by criminal penalty — and post freely accessible online indexes of them within two years of enactment.
The bill responds to longstanding concerns that the federal criminal code has grown so sprawling that citizens and businesses cannot easily identify what conduct is criminal, a problem scholars sometimes call 'overcriminalization,' and it aims to lay a factual foundation for potential future reforms.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require the Attorney General, within one year of enactment, to submit a report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees listing every federal criminal statutory offense, including the elements of each offense, its potential penalty, its mens rea (criminal-intent) requirement, and the number of prosecutions the Department of Justice brought for it in each of the prior 15 years. Separately, the heads of 35 specifically named federal agencies would each submit a parallel report on the criminal regulatory offenses — federal regulations enforceable by criminal penalty — that their agency can enforce, covering the same categories of information plus referral-to-DOJ history.
Within two years of enactment, the Attorney General and each named agency head would be required to post freely accessible, searchable online indexes of their respective offenses on their agency websites. The bill explicitly states it does not require or authorize any new appropriations to carry out these obligations.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the Attorney General to report to Congress on every federal criminal statutory offense, listing each offense's elements, potential penalty, mens rea requirement, and annual prosecution counts over the prior 15 years.
- 2Would require the heads of 35 named federal agencies to report to Congress on every criminal regulatory offense they enforce, including penalties, mens rea, and annual referrals to DOJ over the prior 15 years.
- 3Would require the Attorney General and each named agency head to establish a publicly accessible, free online index of their reported criminal offenses on their agency website.
- 4Explicitly states the bill shall not be construed to require or authorize new appropriations.
Who would be affected
The Department of Justice and 35 named federal agencies, which would bear the burden of compiling and publishing the reports and online indexes. Members of the public, businesses, defense attorneys, legal researchers, and members of Congress would gain access to what would be the first comprehensive, government-maintained public catalog of federal criminal offenses — statutory and regulatory.
Why it matters
No single comprehensive public list of all federal criminal offenses currently exists. If enacted, this bill would give individuals, businesses, lawyers, and policymakers a searchable map of what federal conduct carries criminal liability, how often it has been prosecuted, and what intent the government must prove — information that could directly inform future legislative efforts to simplify or reduce the federal criminal code.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Reports on criminal statutory and regulatory offenses due from DOJ and all named agencies
- Publicly accessible online indexes of all criminal offenses must be established and posted
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 2159 would cost about $7 million in discretionary spending (funds requiring annual congressional appropriation) over the 2026–2031 period, with negligible effects on direct spending and no effect on revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting the Count the Crimes to Cut Act (H.R. 2159) would cost approximately $7 million over the 2026–2031 period, primarily to hire roughly 35 U.S. attorneys at the Department of Justice to compile and report on federal criminal statutes; that spending would be subject to annual appropriations. Effects on direct spending (mandatory spending set by law) would be insignificant, and there would be no change to federal revenues. The bill contains no intergovernmental mandates, but it does impose a private-sector mandate — potential fee increases on entities regulated by the SEC or FCC — that CBO estimates would fall well below the $214 million UMRA annual threshold for private-sector mandates.
How implementation would work
Within one year of enactment, the Attorney General must compile and send to both Judiciary Committees a complete statutory-offense list with elements, penalties, mens rea requirements, and 15-year prosecution counts. Thirty-five named agencies must simultaneously produce parallel reports for criminal regulatory offenses they enforce, including referral-to-DOJ history. Within a second year, all agencies and DOJ must publish those lists as freely accessible online indexes. No rulemaking authority is granted, enforcement mechanisms are not specified, and the bill bars interpreting it to require new appropriations.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 370.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill establishes public databases of federal criminal offenses.
Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Justice to report on and create a public database of all criminal statutory offenses. Additionally, the bill requires federal agencies to report on and create public databases of criminal regulatory offenses that they enforce.
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Crime and Law Enforcement; Criminal justice information and records; Government information and archives
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-346