Congressional Overreach Issue Explainer

5 Things to Know About Congressional Overreach

It’s about control, not crime

People want to feel safe, which is why some politicians use crime as asmokescreen to pass unpopular andineffective laws. Congress’s cash bail bills and CORCA would further erode core American values and leave all of us less safe and more entrenched in a system that trades privacy for the illusion of security. These bills are nothing more than an effort to expand federal control over any place or any person that doesn’t fall into line.

1. Crime is a pretext—don’t fall for it.
   Neither CORCA nor the cash bail bills will prevent future crime. Instead, the bills use crime as a pretext for expanding government control over people and their data.

2. These bills will make us less safe.
   Cash bail hurts public safety because it often means that the most vulnerable people get locked up, whether they committed a crime or not. Cash bail incarcerates people who do not need to be in jail and can derail their lives— they end up losing their housing, their job, and their stability even if a case is dismissed.

3. These bills attack core American values.
   If the government wants to punish you, it has to prove you did the thing it wants to punish. But cash bail is a loophole: you are punished simply for being poor. Jail time depends on whether a police officer or prosecutor decides to arrest you and whether you have money—not whether you actually committed a crime or pose a risk to the community.

4. Congress is bolstering the White House’s authoritarianism moves.
   The Trump administration has shown that when it is given more power, it will use it recklessly and ruthlessly. CORCA would flood DHS with more funding and more surveillance powers without any meaningful oversight or safeguards. We cannot predict how that power may be wielded to hurt Americans.

5. Congress is helping corporations and hurting people.
   Despite a lack of evidence that retail theft is increasing, Congress has given in to corporate fearmongering with CORCA. The bill creates a supercharged, surveillance-driven law enforcement apparatus to address crimes that have historically been handled by local law enforcement. And it is all paid for with taxpayer dollars, data, and privacy.

These cuts don't just eliminate programs—they make communities less safe and abandon victims when they need support most.