Bill Seeks To Cut Away Federal Criminal Law Thicket – Update for February 26, 2027

We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BILLS SEEK TO IDENTIFY FEDERAL CRIMINAL CODE BLOAT

Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Chris Coons (D-DE) last week introduced S. 3868, the Count the Crimes to Cut Act, a bill aimed at addressing the overweight federal criminal code. The bill, cosponsored by two Republicans and two Democrats, would require the Attorney General to publish a list of all federal criminal statutory offenses, including the elements for each offense, the potential criminal penalties, prosecution data from the past 15 years, and mens rea requirements.

The bill, already passed by the House of Representatives as H.R. 2159, would create a searchable database of the estimated 5,000 federal crimes.

“Meaningful criminal justice reform requires more than good intentions—it takes a serious examination of what’s already on the books,” said Sen Peter Welch (D-VT), one of the bill’s cosponsors. “Congress has a responsibility to understand the full scope of the federal criminal code to promote public safety. This bipartisan legislation will increase transparency, reduce overcriminalization, and ensure due process in our criminal justice system.”

The bill has been endorsed by the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Federal Defenders, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Due Process Institute, and the R Street Institute.

The conservative reform organization Right on Crime observed:

The average American is estimated to commit multiple felonies a day without knowing it. This isn’t a punchline or a hypothetical nightmare — it’s a reflection of how vast and unmanageable our federal criminal code has become. The body of federal criminal law has grown so large that no person or institution has been able to definitively count how many crimes currently exist. The result is a justice system that is unfocused, inconsistent, and increasingly ineffective.

S.3868, Count the Crimes to Cut Act

H.R. 2159, Count the Crimes to Cut Act

Press Release, Lee Introduces the Count the Crimes to Cut Act (February 19, 2026)

Press Release, Welch Joins Bipartisan Legislation to Modernize Federal Criminal Code (February 19, 2026)

~ Thomas L. Root