H.R. 5213 explained · 119th Congress · Pending in Congress
No Federal Funds for Cashless Bail Act
Cosponsors: 3 (0 D, 3 R) · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-08
Introduced: 2025-09-08
Latest action (2026-05-04): Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 554.
What H.R. 5213 does, in plain terms
No Federal Funds for Cashless Bail Act This bill prohibits the receipt of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program by a state or local government that has in effect a law or policy that substantially limits cash bail for individuals who are charged with certain criminal offenses that pose a clear threat to public safety and order. Under the bill, the criminal offenses that pose a threat to public safety and order include criminal offenses involving a violent or sexual act (e.g., burglary, murder, or rape) and offenses that promote public disorder (e.g., looting or vandalism).
Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.
Constitution Index
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The Framers
“Founders’ Verdict”
Confidence 1.00
Archived SI output (machine-generated)No editorial review recorded. This historical SI verdict was machine-generated by software and predates the review desk; check it against the official bill text.
Synthesis
Congress may lawfully prohibit federal funds from supporting cashless bail systems as an exercise of its appropriations power over the federal treasury, without encroaching on state criminal procedure authority.
Congress possesses the sovereign authority to lay and collect taxes and to appropriate funds for the general welfare, thereby controlling the disbursement of federal moneys. This legislation merely directs that no federal funds be allocated to support cashless bail systems, a policy choice within the legislative discretion over appropriations. Such a restriction does not infringe upon state sovereignty in criminal procedure, as states retain full authority over their own bail practices absent federal funding. The federal power over the purse ensures an energetic government capable of pursuing …
This act prohibits the use of federal funds to support cashless bail systems, which pertain to state criminal procedures for pretrial release. The federal government possesses no enumerated power to dictate or fund alterations to state bail practices, as criminal justice resides with the states. By withholding federal moneys from such schemes, Congress exercises its authority over appropriations without encroaching upon reserved state powers, thereby upholding the strict limits of federal authority and the people's liberty from centralized overreach. Cashless bail risks undermining the princip…
The proposed act exercises the exclusive constitutional authority of Congress over the federal treasury by prohibiting the appropriation of federal funds for cashless bail systems, which are matters of state criminal procedure. This restraint on spending aligns with the careful enumeration of federal powers, preventing the extension of federal influence into reserved state domains while preserving congressional control over the purse strings to guard against factional excesses in expenditure. Such a limitation does not compel state action but merely directs federal largesse, consistent with th…
The Congress possesses the sovereign authority to determine the disposition of funds drawn from the federal Treasury, as this power is essential to the execution of its enumerated duties. The proposed legislation, by prohibiting the allocation of federal moneys to systems of cashless bail, constitutes a lawful exercise of the appropriations power. It neither encroaches upon the reserved rights of the States in their administration of criminal justice nor contravenes any express prohibition of the Constitution. Such conditional restraints upon federal expenditure are within the necessary and pr…
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