The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Week of November 17, 2025

Currently, the District of Columbia has a cashless bail policy that prohibits using cash bail as a condition for pre-trial release. This reckless policy allows soft-on-crime progressive judges to release dangerous criminals onto the streets of D.C. with only a promise to not re-offend and show up for their future court date, resulting in multiple arrests and putting public safety at risk.

We cannot allow dangerous criminals to roam the streets freely and threaten the safety of everyone in our nation’s capital while they await trial. It’s past time for D.C. to abandon its soft-on-crime policies and make sure those charged with committing violent crimes remain behind bars to ensure the safety of law-abidding Americans. 

This week, House Republicans are continuing our fight to make D.C. safe for visitors and residents by bringing forward legislation that keeps violent and dangerous criminals off our streets. 

Our bill would amend the current D.C. Code to mandate the detention of individuals charged with violent and dangerous offenses and implement cash bail for crimes that threaten public safety, such as aggravated assault and obstruction of justice. This legislation codifies Executive Action taken by President Trump to clean up D.C. crime and make our nation’s capital safe again. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik’s legislation, H.R. 5214, the District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act, amends D.C.’s pre-trial release and detention processes to require mandatory pre-trial detention for defendants charged with violent crimes and for cash bail or bail bonds for defendants charged with certain crimes concerning public safety and order.

Our nation’s capital should set the standard on combatting crime and be safely accessible to the American people – House Republicans are working with President Trump to ensure that’s the case. 

While crime skyrocketed in our nation’s capital, Democrats went after the police working to protect the community instead of the criminals putting Americans at risk. In 2022, the D.C. Council passed their Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, imposing harmful restrictions and requirements on the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) rather than supporting our men and women in uniform. 

The D.C. Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 allows police officers to be targeted by protestors, bans officers from watching body-camera footage when writing initial incident reports, demands a jury to consider if an officer consulted with mental health, behavioral health, or social workers prior to the use of deadly force, dismisses officers and police union representatives from the Police Complaints Board, and strips officers of collective bargaining rights regarding discipline. 

Under the D.C. Council’s emergency legislative powers, these harmful policies have been in place since 2020; meanwhile, D.C. police staffing reached the half-century low as homicides rose to their highest number since 1997. Additionally, juvenile crime in the District has reached historic levels while truancy grows.  

Congress has a duty to oversee the governance of D.C. and make sure the MPD is able to effectively fight crime and keep Washingtonians and visitors safe. President Trump has taken significant strides to clean up D.C. streets and make our capital safe again, and House Republicans are likewise committed to restoring law and order in the District. This week, we are bringing forward legislation to reverse dangerous anti-police measures in the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 to deliver the support our law enforcement needs.

Rep. Andrew Clyde’s legislation, H.R. 5107, the Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC (CLEAN DC) Act, repeals the D.C. Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 which placed harmful and burdensome requirements on the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

House Republicans will always stand with our men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day to keep our communities safe. Who will Democrats stand with: the police or the criminals? 
 

Socialism is one of the most destructive ideologies in world history, time and time again proving itself to be a failed experiment that only leads to communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships. 

More than 100 million people have been killed as a result of the mass murders and famines that accompany failed socialist states. For example, tens of millions of people died during the Bolshevik Revolution, between 15 and 55 million people died of starvation in the wake of famine caused by China’s Great Leap Forward, over one million people were brutally murdered in Cambodia’s killing fields as a result of their socialist experiment, at least 3.5 million people have starved in North Korea, and more. 

Despite the proven dangers of socialism, America is seeing a troubling rise in the harmful ideology, especially with our youth – most recently culminating in the election of radical socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. 

Since 2016, more Democrats have held positive views of socialism than of capitalism, with 66 percent of Democrats now viewing socialism favorably, while only 42 percent view capitalism favorably. Additionally, socialism has seen a rebirth with American youth: 62 percent of Americans between the ages 18 to 29 hold a favorable view of socialism, and 34 percent of communism.

Socialism and the abuses it leads to go against everything our Founding Fathers stood for. We cannot allow history to be ignored and the threat of socialism to grow unchallenged in America. House Republicans are bringing forward legislation that denounces the horrors of socialism and reaffirms our commitment to uphold the American ideals of freedom, democracy, and the pursuit of happiness. 

H. Con. Res. 58, introduced by Congresswoman Maria Salazar, describes the horrors perpetrated by socialist regimes, denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.

Every member of the House of Representatives should unequivocally condemn socialism in all its forms – will Democrats stand up for American values or cave to the radicals in their base?

In January 2024, the Biden Administration announced they would be halting approvals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, despite previous studies showing that American LNG exports create net public benefits, protect global energy security, create American jobs, and reduce emissions. 

This disastrous decision was a blatant political ploy to satisfy radical climate activists dead set on shutting down American energy production, even though banning LNG exports only increases our dependency on hostile foreign adversaries. It also severely harms our national security, discouraging foreign investment in American LNG production and empowering Russia and Iran to influence LNG prices on the global stage.

Thankfully, the Trump Administration has been working to undo the damage done by the Biden Administration, issuing at least three final LNG export authorizations, and U.S. developers have made final investment decisions on six LNG export projects worth more than $70 billion. 

Currently, anyone wanting to import or export U.S. natural gas must get multiple permits, obtaining first approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct, operate, and expand the LNG facility, and second authorization from the Department of Energy (DOE) to import or export natural gas to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries. 

We must continue encouraging American energy production and providing our allies with a secure energy source, not making it harder to export American energy with burdensome bureaucracy. House Republicans are bringing legislation to streamline the export permitting process, unleash domestic production and exports, and protect our national security.

Rep. August Pfluger’s legislation, H.R. 1949, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, lifts restrictions on the import and export of natural gas and streamlines the permitting process by getting rid of the requirement for the DOE to authorize exports and giving FERC total authority over the approval process, facilitating American energy dominance and lowering costs.

Will Democrats once again put radical climate activists above the energy security and economic prosperity of the American people, or will they stand with us in our fight to lower energy costs for workers and families?

Global demand for liquid fuels is increasing, with demand expected to rise by about 20 million barrels per day by 2050 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, under the Biden Administration’s anti-American energy policies and crushing regulations, refineries and America’s refining capacity have suffered.

From 2020 to 2022, the number of U.S. refineries – which are crucial for American energy security, converting crude oil into vital petroleum products and fueling our nation – declined from 135 to 128 and refinery capacity decreased by more than one million barrels of fuel per day. This has resulted in increased refining dependency on foreign nations.

We cannot continue to rely on foreign supplies and risk American energy and national security to appease radical environmentalists. U.S. refineries are vital to our energy independence and to providing the fuels that power America. 

House Republicans are bringing legislation to require the National Petroleum Council to study and collect essential information on the role petrochemical refineries play in America and examine opportunities to expand our refinery capacity while identifying risks to refineries.

H.R. 3109, the Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining (REFINER) Act, introduced by Rep. Bob Latta, bolsters U.S. energy security, reliability, and affordability by requiring the National Petroleum Council to study opportunities and provide recommendations to expand American refining capacity.

House Republicans won’t stop working to bolster America’s energy security by unleashing domestic production and ensuring an abundance of affordable and reliable energy in the U.S.

In 2022, Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) replaced a 2020 Trump Administration plan for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) with one that shuts down domestic energy production on the reserve, killing jobs, hurting Alaskan communities, and threatening our energy security. 

The Biden BLM’s disastrous 2022 Integrated Activity Plan (IAP) Record of Decision (ROD) for NPR-A bars oil and gas leasing on nearly half of the reserve – an area specifically designated by Congress for energy production – leaving only 52 percent open for domestic production. 

With this harmful plan, the Biden Administration put their “Green New Scam” agenda before the Alaskan people and the wellbeing of our country, ignoring the views of Alaska Native leaders in the region and imposing federal red-tape that blocks some of the state’s best resource development opportunities. The economic impacts from crushing development will only harm Alaska and hardworking Americans, cutting down on the good paying jobs and economic benefits that come with domestic production.

This week, House Republicans are bringing legislation to reverse this burdensome and damaging Biden-era plan to lock up NPR-A. It’s past time we unlock Alaska’s full potential and unleash its extensive energy resources, safeguarding jobs, shoring up energy security, and lowering costs for Americans.

Sen. Dan Sullivan’s legislation, S.J. Res. 80, reverses the Biden Bureau of Land Management's 2022 Integrated Activity Plan (IAP) Record of Decision (ROD) for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska that blocks oil and gas leasing on nearly half of the reserve, hurting energy production and crushing job creation.

House Republicans continue working to undo the damage the Biden Administration did to our energy sector and, in turn, our national security.

Last November, the Biden Administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment for the Buffalo Field Office located in Buffalo, Wyoming, which guides the management of BLM lands, including land use allocations of areas available for further coal leasing consideration and those that are not.

Staying consistent with their radical ‘Green New Scam’ policies and anti-American energy agenda, the Biden Administration’s RMP Amendment locked up all 800,000 acres of land and 4.7 million acres of mineral estate administered by the Buffalo Field Office, allocating ZERO acres of BLM administered coal as available and making 48.12 billion short tons of coal unavailable for leasing consideration. 

Wyoming produces around 40 percent of the nation’s coal, and the industry supports over 4,000 jobs in rural Wyoming, $1.9 billion in labor output through 2048, and millions of dollars in state revenue used to fund public education. This radical RMP Amendment essentially ended coal leasing in the area with the BLM accepting no new coal lease applications – crushing domestic energy production, endangering access to affordable, reliable American energy, killing jobs, and harming the economy in Wyoming.  

This week, House Republicans are bringing forward legislation to overturn the Biden BLM’s disastrous RMP Amendment that crushes domestic production in Wyoming, unleashing American energy development, keeping energy prices affordable and reliable, and protecting Wyoming jobs and economy.

H.J. Res. 130, introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman, reverses the rule submitted by Biden’s Bureau of Land Management relating to “Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment” that threatens Americans’ access to affordable and reliable energy by locking up 800,000 acres of land and 4.7 million acres of mineral estate, preventing future coal leasing, and blocking access to 48 billion short-tons of coal in Wyoming.

Energy security is national security. House Republicans won’t stop fighting to unleash American energy and keep the U.S. energy dominant by cutting Biden-era energy-crushing and job-killing regulations.

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Unleashing Energy in Alaska’s Coastal Plain

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act required the Secretary of the Interior to ‘‘establish and administer a competitive oil and gas program for the leasing, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal Plain’’ and mandated energy leasing in the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) with the support of local North Slope communities.

However, when President Biden took office, his administration halted or cancelled all the lease sales relating to the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, and in December 2024, the Biden Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued their “Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision (ROD)” – which manages the leasing program – to replace the 2020 ROD issued during President Trump’s first term. 

The Coastal Plain consists of 1.5 million acres within ANWR on Alaska’s North Slope. The Biden BLM’s harmful ROD blocks energy production on 1.16 million acres of the area and makes the remaining acreage subject to strict and burdensome federal red tape, threatening Alaska’s economy, our energy security, and in turn, our national security.

We should be encouraging domestic energy production, not blocking it, so we can stop relying on foreign nations for our energy – especially since we produce energy much cleaner and safer than anywhere else in the world. House Republicans are bringing forward legislation to undo this disastrous Biden-era ROD and unleash Alaska’s natural resources to support the state’s economic interests as well as our national energy security. 

Rep. Nick Begich’s legislation, H.J. Res. 131, nullifies the Biden Bureau of Land Management’s “Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision (ROD)” rule that unduly restricts oil and gas leasing in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska, violating federal law and threatening U.S. energy independence.

America needs an all-of-the-above energy strategy that supports American energy independence and security – House Republicans are fighting to deliver.