“Today’s vote is extremely disappointing: not only has the Senate voted to block data-driven criminal justice reforms that would make our communities safer and reduce racial disparities, but it has willfully ignored evidence-based policymaking that would begin to address the harms of mass incarceration while improving public safety for D.C.’s 700,000 residents.

“Unfortunately, Senators from both sides of the aisle bowed to fearmongering and misinformation, at the expense of much-needed, commonsense reforms that would have made D.C. safer. The RCCA is based on a 16-year process of extensive research and consultation with law enforcement, academics, advocates, public officials, residents, and many others – and it would have helped safely reduce incarceration while boosting public safety in D.C.

“We’re grateful to those Senators who stood strong in support of the RCCA and voted against overturning these critically-needed, sensible policies.”