[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 118 (Monday, July 23, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H8280-H8284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized
for half the time until midnight as the designee of the majority
leader.
General Leave
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include any extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for the
opportunity to address the House.
I want to, first of all, thank Speaker Pelosi for granting to the
Congressional Black Caucus this time on this evening.
I also want to thank our chairperson, Representative Carolyn
Kilpatrick, for deciding that each Monday members of the Congressional
Black Caucus will come to the floor with a message to address issues,
issues that affect not only African Americans, but issues which are
pertinent to the quality of life in these United States of America.
This evening we have chosen to take a look at something called Second
Chance, and that is we've chosen to take a look at how do we help
successfully reintegrate the more than 650,000 people who come home
from jail and prison each year back into a normal setting so that they
can become contributing members of society, so that
[[Page H8281]]
they can become assets and not liabilities, and so that they can be the
productive citizens that they have the potential of being.
We all know that it's common knowledge that people being released
from prison and jail have complex needs, and that's why Second Chance
is so important. Three out of four have a substance abuse problem, but
only 10 percent in State prisons and 3 percent in local jails receive
formal treatment prior to release. Fifty-five percent have children
under 18, and about 2 percent of all United States minors either have
or have had a parent in prison. Two out of three lack a high school
diploma. And 40 percent have neither a diploma nor GED, and only about
one out of three gets vocational training at any point during their
incarceration.
Nearly half of those in jail earned less than $600 a month just prior
to incarceration, and more than one of three jail inmates reported some
physical or mental disability. About one out of five prisoners is
released from prison without any real supervision or without any kind
of help.
And so when we look at this enormous problem, it is essential that we
provide all of the assistance. We know, for example, that those
individuals who come out of prison and receive no help, within a 3-year
period of time, 67 percent of them would have done what we call
reoffend. About 53 percent of them will be back reincarcerated after
having used up thousands of dollars of public resources just to get
them back in jail or back in prison, not to mention the enormous cost
of maintaining them during their stay.
{time} 2230
That is why we believe that it makes far more sense to help these
individuals return.
You know, it is not easy to get people to come over on a Monday night
at 10:30. But one Member of the Congressional Black Caucus has come
this evening. Not only has he come this evening, but he comes often. He
comes often in terms of the kind of representation that he has provided
in this House during his entire tenure, but also the kind of
representation that he has provided throughout America trying to make
sure that people experience equality, equal opportunity, a sense of
justice, and a sense of hope. So I am very pleased that Representative
Bobby Scott has joined me.
Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield to him to further discuss
this issue.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Illinois for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois for
scheduling this special order on the Second Chance Act and for his long
and diligent labors to move the bill forward as part of his lifetime of
dedication to protecting and serving the public's interest.
He has been a dedicated public servant on this issue, ensuring that
those who are in prison have a chance to turn their lives around and
become productive citizens. That is why he is the chief sponsor of the
Second Chance Act.
Congressman Davis' efforts not only benefit the offenders, because
for everyone who comes out and establishes a law-abiding and productive
life, one or more potential victims of crime never become victims, and
the taxpayers have to pay less in prison expenses because one less
person is not going back to prison.
This is the third Congress in a row that we have been working on this
bill on a bipartisan basis. I believe this year we will be successful
in passing the bill.
Madam Speaker, over the last decade we have seen an unprecedented
explosion in our prison and jail populations. Now there are more than
2.2 million people incarcerated in Federal and State prisons and local
jails, a tenfold increase since just 1980. Moreover, the annual
expenses for corrections have increased from $9 billion in 1982 to more
than $65 billion today. The figures continue to grow. These figures do
not include the cost of arrest and prosecution, nor do they take into
account the cost to victims of crime.
As a result of this focus in incarceration, the United States leads
the world in per capita incarceration rates. The United States locks up
726 inmates for every 100,000 in population, according to 2004 data.
The international average is about 100 per 100,000. 142 in England
and Wales, 117 in Australia, 116 in Canada, 91 in Germany, 85 in
France. So the United States average is more than seven times the
international average of about 100 per 100,000. The closest competitor
is 532 inmates per 100,000 in Russia. That is 726 in the United States,
Russia, second place, 532 per 100,000.
This year, more than 650,000 people will be released from State and
Federal prisons to communities nationwide, along with more than 9
million people leaving our local jails. According to the Department of
Justice, 67 percent of offenders leaving State and Federal prison will
be rearrested within the next 3 years.
There is a pressing need to provide ex-offenders with education and
training, drug treatment and medical and mental health services
necessary to afford them the ability to obtain and hold steady jobs.
The statistics underlying the needs of our prison population are
staggering. For example, 57 percent of Federal and 70 percent of State
inmates used drugs regularly before prison, with some estimates going
as high as 84 percent of alcohol or drug use at the time the offense
occurred.
Furthermore, one-third of all jail inmates will have some physical or
mental disability. Twenty-five percent of jail inmates in fact have
been treated at some time for mental or emotional problems. And as has
been detailed by many researchers, other deficiencies include limited
education and few job skills or job experience.
Evidence from the Department of Justice indicates that the needs for
prison population are not being met under the current system. If we
allow them to return to their communities with few economic
opportunities where they were actually involved in crime and where
their friends and associates may still be involved in crime and
substance abuse, if we allow them to return to those communities
without support, we can only expect to see the extension of the cycle
of recidivism.
With bipartisan support in this legislation, we are set to build a
broad web of programs which will help break the cycle of recidivism
laying at the heart of our prison population explosion. The Second
Chance Act provides a host of evidence-based approaches designed to
reduce the high rate of recidivism that we are now experiencing.
If we are going to continue to send more and more people to prison
with longer and longer sentences, we should do as much as we reasonably
can to assure that when they do return to their communities, they don't
turn around and commit new offenses and have to go back to prison.
Madam Speaker, let's be clear: The primary reason for supporting the
Second Chance Act is not to benefit the offenders, although it does
benefit the offenders. The primary reason for doing so is it better
assures us that we and other Members of the community will not be
victims of crime in the future and because the taxpayer will have to
pay less in services under the Second Chance Act than we now have to
pay because of the high recidivism rate and having people go back to
prison.
So I want to thank again the gentleman from Illinois for holding this
special order to bring attention to this important issue and the
legislation that has been carefully drawn up to address it. I thank Mr.
Davis for being the chief sponsor of the Second Chance Act. We are
going to work as hard as we can to make sure it passes the House and
the Senate.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative
Scott again for leading the charge in the Judiciary Committee to make
sure that this legislation was in fact passed. It has passed out of
Judiciary. Without your leadership and the leadership of Chairman
Conyers and the help of individuals like Representative Waters and
Representative Watts and Representative Sensenbrenner and a number of
others, it never would have happened. So we definitely appreciate that.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. If the gentleman will yield further, I would
also like to point out it is bipartisan. Representative Chabot from
Ohio and many Republicans on the committee
[[Page H8282]]
have been strong supporters of the Second Chance Act. That is how it
received such an overwhelming vote in the committee.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. And definitely Representative Chris Cohen was
very helpful and was a chief Republican sponsor of the legislation.
Let me also indicate that I agree with what you just said about
America having more of its people in prison than any other developed
nation in the world. But the vast majority, 95 percent of those
individuals, will eventually return to the community. That is, they
will return to the communities from whence they came. That means that
every year about 650,000 are released. These men and women deserve a
second chance. Their families, spouses and children deserve a second
chance, and their communities indeed deserve a second chance. ``Second
chance'' really means an opportunity to turn a life around, a chance to
break the grip of a drug habit, a chance to support a family, to pay
taxes, to be self-sufficient.
Today, few of those who return to their communities are prepared for
their release or receive any supportive services. When the prison door
swings open, an ex-offender may receive a bus ticket and spending money
for a day or two. Many leave prison to return to the same environment
which saw them offend in the first place. But, as they return, they
often face additional barriers to reentry: Serious physical and mental
health problems, as you just indicated; no place to stay; a lack of
education or qualifications to hold a job.
As a result, two out of three will be re-arrested for new crimes
within the first 3 years of their release. Youthful offenders are even
more likely to re-offend. One-third of all correction departments
provide no services to released offenders, and most departments do not
offer a transitional program, placing a heavy burden on families and
communities.
Considering the cost of incarceration, as much as $40,000 per year,
and all the social and economic costs of crime to the community, it is
just plain common sense to act to help these individuals reenter,
become useful and reduce the level of recidivism.
When we think about it, the Second Chance Act will provide
transitional assistance to assist ex-offenders in coping with the
challenges of reentry. It will help reunite families and protect
communities. It will enhance public safety and save taxpayer dollars.
It is the humane thing to do, it is the responsible thing to do, and it
is indeed the right thing to do.
The bill has the support of more than 200 criminal justice, service
provider, faith-based, housing, governmental, disability and civil
rights organizations, and President Bush has signaled his support for
the legislation as well.
No single piece of legislation is going to solve the reentry crisis
we are facing, but the Second Chance Act is a good start. I believe
that with its passage, then we put the spotlight not just on the
problem, but on the opportunities for solutions.
I am convinced, however, that any serious effort to facilitate the
reentry of men and women with criminal records to civil society must be
prepared to do two things: First we must be prepared to help with drug
treatment on demand for everyone who requests it; secondly, we must
find work for ex-offenders. Programs won't supply jobs. And after ex-
offenders have undergone rehabilitation and receive appropriate
training, employers will have to open their hearts and put these men
and women back into the workforce, or they will surely and certainly
end up back in prison.
I hope that everyone watching does in fact agree. I hope that
everyone listening does in fact agree. And I certainly hope that all of
the Members of this body and all of the Members in the other body will
agree. Because when we help a person successfully reenter, we are not
really just helping them, we are helping ourselves. I would much rather
help an individual get rid of a drug problem than have to watch behind
me when I walk down the street, or have to wonder whether or not I am
going to be under attack because some person is in need of a $15 fix.
Madam Speaker, this legislation is legislation for America.
Madam Speaker, I include for the Record the following statistics on
adults on parole.
Adults on Parole, by Race/Ethnic Origin, 2005
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Native
Parold Black/ American Hawaiian/
State population, White African Hispanic or Indian/ Asian other Two or more Unknown or
12/31/2005 American Latino Alaskan Pacific races not reported
Native Islander
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey........................................................ 13,874 2,906 6,679 2,563 19 25 53 0 1,629
New York.......................................................... 53,533 8,770 24,467 18,739 225 312 0 0 1,020
Pennsylvania a.................................................... 75,678 39,517 28,271 6,022 62 295 3 56 1,452
Illinois b........................................................ 34,576 10,124 20,386 3,923 30 90 ** ** 23
Michigan.......................................................... 19,978 9,170 10,209 309 132 38 0 0 120
Minnesota......................................................... 3,966 2,350 996 319 201 0 0 0 100
Missouri.......................................................... 18,374 12,246 5,665 356 55 37 0 0 15
Ohio b............................................................ 19,512 9,717 9,580 156 39 20 0 0 0
Wisconsin a....................................................... 15,505 6,983 6,712 1,209 432 122 ** ** 47
Alabama b......................................................... 7,252 2,503 4,670 32 2 8 0 2 35
Florida........................................................... 4,785 1,940 2,725 105 5 0 0 ** 10
Georgia........................................................... 22,851 7,979 14,872 ** ** ** ** ** 0
Louisiana......................................................... 24,072 8,519 15,432 4 4 2 ** ** 111
Maryland.......................................................... 14,271 3,617 10,602 ** 13 17 ** ** 22
Mississippi....................................................... 1,970 847 1,104 11 4 2 0 0 2
North Carolina.................................................... 3,101 1,096 1,801 126 50 9 1 ** 18
South Carolina.................................................... 3,155 1,029 2,081 20 8 1 0 ** 16
Texas............................................................. 101,916 34,561 39,718 26,920 70 163 0 0 484
Virginia b........................................................ 4,499 2,144 2,243 0 2 0 0 0 110
California........................................................ 111,743 34,535 27,825 44,135 897 1,018 193 0 3,140
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** Not known.
a See Explanatory notes for more detail.
b Some or all detailed data are estimated for race.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Representative Scott, I don't know if you have
anything else you would like to add. If so, please feel free to do so.
{time} 2245
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you for
introducing the legislation. It not only helps individuals, but saves
taxpayer money and reduces crime in a cost-effective manner. Everybody
wins with passage of this legislation. I thank you for your leadership.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I thank the gentleman.
Madam Speaker, I hope the next time we come to the floor to talk
about ex-offender reentry, we will be congratulating ourselves, we will
be congratulating the House, the Senate and the President for having
put into play a meaningful piece of legislation that is going to be
good for America.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in
strong support of the Second Chance Act, and I thank Mr. Davis for
introducing this important piece of legislation.
In American we have more than 2-million people in prison. Of these,
over 600-thousand are released each year.
Very few of these individuals are prepared to return to their
communities or receive support services to ease their transition.
These ex-offenders face serious impediments in obtaining employment,
and often have serious mental or physical ailments that remain
unaddressed.
Today, approximately half of all black men are jobless. Amongst ex-
offenders this number is even higher.
There is revolving door of ex-offenders into many of our
neighborhoods.
[[Page H8283]]
With few opportunities two-thirds of all ex-offenders are arrested
for new crimes within a few years of their release.
We must give these individuals the opportunity to become productive
citizens.
The Second Chance Act will go a long way towards this goal by
providing transitional assistance to ex-offenders reentering their
communities.
It will work to reunite families and provide the appropriate training
and rehabilitation for these individuals.
This bill will increase public safety and give millions of ex-
offenders a chance to be positive productive citizens. I strongly urge
my colleagues support.
Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker. I would also like to thank Congressman Davis
for his leadership on this issue, and for introducing H.R. 1593, The
Second Chance Act, which injects a much needed dose of reality into
this debate.
The reality is, recidivism rates continue to rise with nearly 70
percent of released offenders returning to prison within 3 years. By
releasing ex-offenders back into our communities without arming them
with the necessary tools for survival, we are condemning them to repeat
their past mistakes. And this does nothing to reduce the crime rate and
provide for safe communities.
Today, we can change the landscape of ex-offender re-entry programs
in this country. We need to make rehabilitation a reality not just an
abstract proposal. By providing all formerly incarcerated individuals
with greater access to education, health care, job placement, and drug
treatment we will reduce recidivism rates across the board.
Re-entry programs are critical to reintegrating ex-offenders into
civil society. Up to 60 percent of ex-offenders are unemployed a year
after their release and up to 30 percent go directly to homeless
shelters upon their release. The incidence of drug use among ex-
offenders is over 80 percent, twice the rate of the United States
population. It's more than clear that something needs to be done.
Madam Speaker, this legislation is especially important to me due to
large number of formerly incarcerated prisoners in my district. I am
currently helping those who qualify to legally clean up their records.
Following the lead of my colleague from Illinois, Congressman Danny
Davis, I have hosted two Record Remedy summits in my district. These
summits are a resource for the nearly 10,000 people who come back to my
District every year after having served their time in jail. We have a
vested interest in making sure that people reentering our community do
so successfully. Help with cleaning their records provides an
opportunity for a second chance to read an application, get a job or go
back to school.
Madam Speaker, our criminal justice systems are sorely in need of
reform. We must provide formerly incarcerated individuals with the
required skills to successfully reenter our communities. And, we must
end the cycle of injustice that is perpetuated by a system that
continues to punish people, long after they have paid their debt to
society. H.R. 1593, the Second Chance Act, is a critical step forward.
No one condones criminal activity but I tell you once one serves their
time, they should be able to feed their family and move on with their
lives.
I urge my colleagues and support the Second Chance Act.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I have been waiting nearly 30
years for Congress to enact meaningful reentry legislation, as I have
been deeply involved in prisoner reentry issues since my days as a
judge and county prosecutor in Cleveland, Ohio before serving in
Congress. While Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, I helped establish the
``Pretrial Diversion Program,'' as well as the ``Municipal Drug
Court.'' Both programs, I am proud to say, still exist and continue to
help ex-offenders move on with their lives and become productive
citizens of society.
Prisoner reentry is not a Democratic issue. It is not a Republican
issue. It is a common sense issue. The facts are clear--meaningful
reentry programs significantly diminish the chances that ex-offenders
will return to prison. That saves taxpayer dollars and increases public
safety. So why not invest in enhancing reentry programs in order to end
the cycle of recidivism? That is exactly what the Second Chance Act
does.
In 2002, two million people were incarcerated in all federal and
state prisons. Each year, nearly 650,000 people are released from
prison to communities nationwide. Nearly two thirds of released
prisoners are expected to be re-arrested for a felony or serious
misdemeanor within three years of their release.
The State of Ohio has one of the largest populations of ex-offenders
re-entering the community, with about 24,000 ex-offenders returning to
their respective communities annually. Of those ex-offenders, about
6,000 will return to Cuyahoga County and almost 5,000 will re-enter in
the City of Cleveland. Statewide, about 40 percent of ex-offenders will
return to prison. In Cuyahoga County, about 41 percent will return to
prison. Such high recidivism rates translate into thousands of new
crimes each year and wasted taxpayer dollars, which can be averted
through improved prisoner reentry efforts.
Today, I am proud to stand with my colleague Representative Danny K.
Davis as an original co-sponsor of the ``Second Chance Act of 2007.
This legislation allocates $360 million towards a variety of reentry
programs. One of the main components of the bill is the funding of
demonstration projects that would provide ex-offenders with a
coordinated continuum of housing, education, health, employment, and
mentoring services. This broad array of services would provide
stability and make the transition for ex-offenders easier, in turn
reducing recidivism.
This legislation is critical to successful re-entry of offenders. The
bill provides as a beginning the essential ingredients necessary to
assure public safety and recovery. It will help begin the process of
breaking down barriers to successful re-entry and allow offenders and
their families the tools necessary to break the cycle of criminality.
This is first-of-a-kind legislation that is critical to successful
reentry of ex-offenders. It provides as a beginning the essential
ingredients necessary to assure public safety and recovery. It will
help begin the process of breaking down barriers to successful reentry
and allow offenders and their families the tools necessary to break the
cycle of criminality.
A key component of the Second Chance Act is that it makes funds for
reentry services directly available to state and local governments and
non-profit organizations that offer reentry services. This is important
because these are the groups that are committed to reentry and are ``on
the ground.'' And if one thing is true, it is that that state and local
governments and non-profits need more funds in order to provide reentry
services more effectively.
Let me highlight two entities that do wonderful reentry work in my
State of Ohio and would stand to benefit from the Second Chance Act:
(1) Community Reentry in Cleveland, Ohio, led by Charles See, and on
which I sit on the Board of Directors, and (2) the Ohio Department of
Rehabilitation and Correction, formerly headed by Reggie Wilkinson, who
devoted 33 years of public service to the Department.
Community Reentry, which is part of the Lutheran Metropolitan
Ministry, has served the City of Cleveland since 1973 by resettling
people who have been involved with the justice system to reduce
recidivism and enhance the quality of their lives and the life of the
community.
Community Reentry also provides prevention and intervention social
services to youth in low-income public housing facilities who are at
high risk for involvement in drug or gang activity and future
incarceration.
Community Reentry administers a variety of reentry services that
benefit the Cleveland community. Let me underscore a few of their
programs, all of which are comprised of ex-offenders.
Care Team. Care Team members, also known as ``Red Jackets,'' that
serve elderly people and people with disabilities who live in
apartments managed by Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA).
Care Team members escort residents to the market, doctor's offices and
the bank, run errands and assist with light chores.
When one elderly woman was asked how she feels about two of the
members of her building's Care Team, she replied, ``They're not
criminals. They are just like my sons!''
Care Team members are paid employees of Community Reentry. Full time
employees receive a full benefits package that includes vacation,
health insurance, and pension that is fully vested after 1 year. The
recidivism rate for Care Team members is less than 5 percent.
Friend to Friend. The Friend to Friend program recruits, trains and
coordinates volunteers to visit men and women in prison. Male
volunteers are matched with men at Lorain Correctional and Grafton
Prison--both located in Lorain County, Ohio. Female volunteers are
matched with women at the Pre-Release Center in Cleveland. The purpose
of the program is to reduce social isolation of people who are
incarcerated and to help prepare them for reentry into the community.
Volunteers are not asked to do anything they don't already know how
to do, and their only job is to be a friend to someone who needs one.
Women's Re-Entry Network (WREN). WREN's mission is to enhance the
quality of life for women involved in the criminal justice system,
their families, and the community, by helping participants reenter
society. The program enhances self-sufficiency and access to resources,
increases positive social supports and family ties, overcomes barriers
to goal achievement, and reduces the risk of recidivism.
WREN provides a holistic network of mental health, education,
employment, family and supportive services in a safe and welcoming
[[Page H8284]]
environment. It is a place where women can begin the process of
rebuilding their lives, reconnecting with family and reclaiming their
place as productive members of the community.
As a member of Community Reentry's Board of Directors, I can tell you
that these reentry programs work, and investing in their expansion
makes sense. I urge you to contact your Representatives and Senators so
that they support the Second Chance Act and see that it passes the
House and Senate as soon as possible.
____________________