Sponsors
The bill preserves federal support for justice and victim programs in places that detain accused people, but does so by penalizing jurisdictions that expand pretrial release—risking major grant losses, service cuts for vulnerable populations, higher local costs, and federal intrusion into local criminal-justice choices.
State and local governments that detain people accused of serious crimes will continue to receive federal funding for certain justice and victim programs, helping sustain public-safety operations and victim-assistance capacity.
Victims’ and child-abuse programs funded by covered grants (e.g., CAPTA, Victims of Child Abuse Act) are more likely to remain funded in jurisdictions that restrict pretrial release, preserving services for victims and children.
States and localities that permit pretrial release on personal recognizance or unsecured bonds will lose eligibility for multiple federal grants (justice, rehabilitation, education, and victim programs), producing large funding shortfalls for local governments.
People in jurisdictions that lose those grants could face reductions in reentry services, legal aid, victim services, workforce training, and educational support for incarcerated students, disproportionately harming low-income people, people with disabilities, and those with chronic conditions.
Tying grant eligibility to local pretrial detention practices shifts federal influence into local criminal-justice decisionmaking, undermining state and local reform efforts and judicial discretion.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Conditions several federal grants on state/local pretrial policies by barring funds to jurisdictions that allow pretrial release on personal recognizance or unsecured appearance bonds.
Introduced November 20, 2025 by Timothy Burchett · Last progress November 20, 2025
Prohibits federal grant funding to any State or local government that permits pretrial release on personal recognizance or by an unsecured appearance bond. The Attorney General must identify jurisdictions that allow those types of pretrial release within 30 days of enactment and annually, and agency heads administering specified federal grant programs must terminate funds to listed jurisdictions within 90 days; funds are reinstated within 180 days after a jurisdiction is removed from the list.