As Gov. Kathy Hochul seeks more changes to New York's controversial bail law, Republicans in Congress are trying to find ways of pushing back on the national stage. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik is trying to encourage states to not pass laws like New York's measure that largely ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges — highlighting the issue this week by inviting Montgomery County Sheriff Jeff Smith to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address. 

"They need to go back to basics, Democrats in Albany," Stefanik said Tuesday in an interview before Biden's 9 p.m. address. "They need to listen to our law enforcement officers who are in our communities, who are on the front lines."

Stefanik has proposed legislation that would send funding to states that approve measures that would have judges be required to consider a dangerousness standard when setting bail, a provision that has been opposed by Democratic lawmakers in New York.

States that adopt the change can be in line for grants that are meant to aid law enforcement agencies. 

Stefanik is highlighitng the public safety issue on the national stage with Smith as crime remains a top concern for voters.

"This was the number one issue in the last statewide election and it's one of the reasons why Kathy Hochul underperformed," Stefanik said. "People understand that this crime crisis in New York is a direct result of these failed policies."

Smith said the issue has frustrated law enforcement, especially when it comes to retail crimes.  

"They know there's really no accountability," Smith said. "They're given an appearance ticket and then they move on. Then they move to the next large box store in our area, so they'll commit mutliple larcenies in multiple days."

Hochul this year is trying to win changes to law, including ending the least restrictive requirement judges must consider when setting bail for serious criminal charges. She says it would give judges clarity. 

"We are focusing on remedying that inconsistency," she said after presenting her budget plan for the year, which includes the proposed bail change. 

But advocates like Katie Schaffer of the Center for Community Alternatives says the proposal would only hurt defendants who have not been convicted of a crime. 

"What that invites for judges is to make those decisions based on whims, based on their own biases," Schaffer said. 

Supporters of the bail also dispute it led to a rise in crime in New York, pointing to the effects of the pandemic. 

"We've seen increases nationally connected to the social and economic dislocations connected to the pandemic," Schaffer said.