Tom Rooney: Time to Reform Federal Regulatory Crime Code

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Thursday on the need to reform federal regulatory crimes and incarceration policies. 

“As we look at criminal justice reform, I believe we must address the massive increase in the size, scope and complexity of the federal criminal code,” Rooney said. “By delegating so much authority in rule-making, we have given unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats the power to define criminal behavior and set penalties that include incarceration. In other words, we have let bureaucrats turn regulatory offenses, even minor ones, into federal crimes that carry prison sentences.

“The Constitution lists three federal crimes – treason, piracy, and counterfeiting,” Rooney said. “Today, there are more than 4,500 federal crimes. On top of that, there are now so many regulatory crimes, hidden in so many different sections of the federal code, that even CRS can’t compile a list of them. In fact, they can’t even tell us how many there are. Their best guess is about 300,000.

“How on earth can we expect individuals and small businesses to know these regulatory crimes, understand them, and comply with them?” Rooney demanded.