WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bail Project is urging the Senate to reject H.R. 5215, warning that the measure would return Washington, D.C., to a system of mass pretrial detention and wealth-based incarceration, undermining decades of local progress and democratic self-governance.
On Nov. 20, 2025, the Bail Project released an article opposing the congressional effort to override local democracy and reinstate cash bail in D.C.
According to the Bail Project, H.R. 5215 — the D.C. Cash Bail Reform Act — is a dangerous federal intrusion that mandates mass detention, eliminates judicial discretion, and undermines public safety.
The Bail Project, founded in 2017 by Robin Steinberg, is a nonprofit organization that aims to transform America’s pretrial system by eliminating reliance on cash bail and proving that a more humane, equitable, and effective pretrial system is possible.
According to the article, the organization criticized the U.S. House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 5214, the D.C. Cash Bail Reform Act. “[It is] a sweeping and unconstitutional mandate for mass pretrial detention and wealth-based incarceration,” states the Bail Project. They argue that it forces judges to jail people solely based on accusation. The Project claims that the act mandates cash bail across broad categories of offenses and dismantles D.C.’s effective pretrial system.
According to Erin George, the national director of policy at the Bail Project, “‘H.R. 5214 is a dangerous federal intrusion that overrides Washington, D.C.’s proven pretrial system and the democratic will of District residents.’” She further argues, “H.R. 5214 is not about public safety — it’s about control — and will have devastating ripple effects on families, communities, and safety.” The Bail Project urges the Senate to reject this “‘reckless federal overreach’” and instead pursue public safety solutions grounded in evidence.
According to the Project, for more than three decades, D.C.’s locally designed pretrial system has protected public safety while upholding the presumption of innocence. The organization claims that judges make release decisions based on individualized assessments of actual risk. “The results are indisputable,” they state. “In the last four years, 88% of people released pretrial in D.C. remained completely arrest-free, and 98% remained free from violent arrest,” the article notes.
It claims that H.R. 5214 ignores the success of D.C.’s pretrial system. The article states that, by entrenching the use of cash bail, the bill would replace risk-based decision-making with wealth-based incarceration, ultimately forcing judges to automatically jail individuals who have not been convicted of a crime — even when they pose little to no risk — simply because they cannot afford to pay for their freedom.
“Research shows that this approach destabilizes families, increases recidivism, and makes communities less safe,” the article states. The Project demonstrates that people with financial means would be able to buy their freedom regardless of the danger they may pose.
According to the Bail Project, the bill also strips away the constitutional right to an individualized bail hearing. This right was previously upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Salerno, which found that “‘liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or without trial is the carefully limited exception.’” The Project argues that H.R. 5214 replaces evidence-based judicial discretion with a blunt, fear-based mandate.
According to the article, the passage of H.R. 5214 marks the latest escalation in a coordinated federal campaign to dismantle bail reform nationwide. Previous executive orders and a growing slate of federal bills have sought to expand pretrial incarceration, punish jurisdictions that have reduced or ended cash bail, and override local democratic decision-making.
Further, the Bail Project continues to argue that D.C.’s current pretrial system protects safety and democracy, while H.R. 5214 violates both. For these reasons, the organization urges the Senate to reject the bill.
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