HR 5143 · 119th Congress 2025–2027

District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025

Introduced Sep 4, 2025 Originated House Sponsor Clay Higgins R-LA

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Sep 18, 2025 Received in the Senate.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedSep 4, 2025
  2. Passed HouseSep 17, 2025
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

District of Columbia Policing Protection Act

This bill repeals restrictions on the circumstances under which law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia (DC) may engage in vehicular pursuits (i.e., police chases) of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles, and instead generally requires such pursuits in the absence of other means of apprehension.

Currently, pursuant to DC's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, law enforcement officers generally may not engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles unless the officer reasonably believes (1) the suspect was involved in a crime of violence or poses an immediate and serious threat to another person, (2) the pursuit is necessary to prevent that threat and is not likely to result in death or serious injury to any person, and (3) all other options have been exhausted or are unreasonable given the circumstances.

The bill repeals these restrictions and instead requires law enforcement officers to engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles unless the officer or a higher-ranking officer reasonably believes that (1) such pursuit would be futile, (2) the pursuit would entail an unacceptable risk of harm to a person other than the suspect, or (3) the suspect can be apprehended more effectively or expeditiously by other means.

The bill also requires the Department of Justice to report to Congress on the costs and benefits of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department adopting technology that alerts the public of an active police pursuit in their immediate vicinity. 

Recorded votes 1

Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.

Roll callQuestionResultDate
House 275On PassagePassed245–182Sep 17, 2025

Yea 245

Nay 182

Not voting 5

Cosponsors 2

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 4, 2025 to Sep 15, 2025; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
R-FLByron DonaldsOriginalSep 4, 2025
R-SCJoe WilsonSep 15, 2025

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseOversight and Government Reform Committee
Referred Sep 4, 2025Markup Sep 10, 2025

Actions 14

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Sep 18, 2025Received in the Senate.
  2. Sep 17, 2025Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 707. (consideration: CR H4379)
  3. Sep 17, 2025Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015 and H.R. 3062. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015, and H.R. 3062 under a closed rule, and provides for a motion to recommit on each measure.
  4. Sep 17, 2025DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 5143.
  5. Sep 17, 2025The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
Show all 14 actions

In the Congressional Record 3

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
HouseDebate and remarks H4379–H4386Text printed H4379Recorded votes H4395enactClay Higgins R-LA, Eleanor Holmes Norton D-DC, Glenn Ivey D-MD, James Comer R-KY, LaMonica McIver D-NJ, Robert Garcia D-CASep 17, 2025
HouseDebate and remarks H4321–H4330Text printed H4321Amendments H4328Recorded votes H4329, H4330consideration (H. Res. 707), previous questionGregory W. Meeks D-NY, James P. McGovern D-MA (amendment), Lloyd Doggett D-TX, Nicholas A. Langworthy R-NY, Teresa Leger Fernandez D-NMSep 16, 2025
HouseDeclaratory Statements H4313—Sep 15, 2025

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Congressional Budget Office cost estimate

  1. Sep 15, 2025H.R. 5143, District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025As ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on September 10, 2025

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 8, clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any department or Officer thereof

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 145, September 4, 2025, page H3862.

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

ProductTitleKindPublished
R47927District of Columbia Local Lawmaking and Congressional AuthorityReportMar 11, 2026

Amendments 1

Amendments offered to this bill.

AmendmentDescriptionOffered byStatus
HAmdt 106Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 707, the amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-11 is considered adopted.Rules CommitteeOn agreeing to the Rules amendment (A001) Agreed to without objection.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HRES 707Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4922) to limit youth offender status in the District of Columbia to individuals 18 years of age or younger, to direct the Attorney General of the District of Columbia to establish and operate a publicly accessible website containing updated statistics on juvenile crime in the District of Columbia, to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to prohibit the Council of the District of Columbia from enacting changes to existing criminal liability sentences, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5143) to establish standards for law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia to engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5140) to lower the age at which a minor may be tried as an adult for certain criminal offenses in the District of Columbia to 14 years of age; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5125) to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to terminate the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1047) to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reform the interconnection queue process for the prioritization and approval of certain projects, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3015) to reestablish the National Coal Council in the Department of Energy to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy on matters related to coal and the coal industry, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3062) to establish a more uniform, transparent, and modern process to authorize the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of international border-crossing facilities for the import and export of oil and natural gas and the transmission of electricity; and for other purposes.Related billMar 25, 2026

Titles 4

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To establish standards for law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia to engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced
District of Columbia Policing Protection Act
Short Title(s) as Passed House
District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025
Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
To establish standards for law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia to engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects, and for other purposes.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Sep 17, 2025Engrossed in House
  2. Sep 4, 2025Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.