Cotton Introduces Legislation to End Vagrancy Camps on DC’s Streets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
July 29, 2025

Cotton Introduces Legislation to End Vagrancy Camps on DC’s Streets

Washington, DC — Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Prohibiting Encampments on Public Grounds Act, legislation that would make it illegal to camp on public property in Washington, DC.

“Our nation’s capital should be a point of pride, not littered with homeless encampments that endanger visitors like the thousands of Arkansans who visit each year. This bill would clean up DC’s public property and allow law enforcement officials to maintain order in the streets of our nation’s capital,” said Senator Cotton.

Text of the bill can be found here.

The Prohibiting Encampments on Public Grounds Act would:

• Make it unlawful to set up, maintain, or establish a camp or temporary abode on public property in Washington, DC.

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