[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 171 (Tuesday, November 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 5, 2007

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my dear friend, 
Mr. Danny Davis of Illinois, for organizing this special order on the 
very important subject addressing the prison warehousing crisis in this 
country. H.R. 1593, The Second Chance Act, a bill of which I am an 
original co-sponsor, addresses the very serious concerns about the 
compromised state of warehousing prisoners.
  Earlier this year the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and 
Homeland Security, of which I am a member, held hearings to address the 
state of certain conditions within the United States prison system. In 
one of those hearings, my colleagues and I considered the merits of The 
Second Chance Act, and my amendment which I offered in the last 
Congress was included in the base bill this year.
  The Second Chance Act is designed to reduce recidivism, increase 
public safety, and help state and local governments better address the 
growing population of ex-offenders returning their communities. The 
bill focuses on four areas: development and support of programs that 
provide alternatives to incarceration, expansion of the availability of 
substance abuse treatment, strengthening families and the expansion of 
comprehensive re-entry services. The Subcommittee has held a series of 
hearings on issues relating to re-entry of prisoners and this 
legislation dating back to the 108th Congress. Our most recent hearing, 
on March 20, 2007, focused on re-entry best practices and the 
continuing need for Federal support of re-entry program development.
  Nearly two-thirds of released state prisoners are expected to be re-
arrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years of their 
release. 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.
  The ``Second Chance Act of 2007'' allocates $36o 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.

  Another reason why I strongly support this legislation is because it 
includes a provision contained in an amendment I offered during the 
Judiciary Committee markup of this bill in the 109th Congress. That 
amendment, incorporated in H.R. 1593 as Section 243 of the bill, 
requires that the:

       Attorney General shall collect data and develop best 
     practices of State corrections departments and child 
     protection agencies relating to the communication and 
     coordination between such State departments and agencies to 
     ensure the safety and support of children of incarcerated 
     parents (including those in foster care and kinship care), 
     and the support of parent-child relationships between 
     incarcerated (and formerly incarcerated) parents and their 
     children, as appropriate to the health and well-being of the 
     children.

  I also sponsored H.R. 261, the Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent 
Offender Relief Act of 2007 which I introduced earlier this year. H.R. 
261 directs the Bureau of Prisons, pursuant to a good time policy, to 
release a prisoner who has served one half or more of his or her term 
of imprisonment if that prisoner: (1) Has attained age 45; (2) has 
never been convicted of a crime of violence; and (3) has not engaged in 
any violation, involving violent conduct, of institutional disciplinary 
regulations.
  H.R. 261, would address the problem of warehousing in the Nation's 
Federal correction facilities non-violent offenders over the age of 45 
who have served more than half of their sentences and pose no future 
danger to society. As I stated during the markup of H.R. 1593, the 
Second Chance Act of 2007, I strongly believe that in affording older 
offenders a second chance to turn around their lives and contribute to 
society, that ex-offenders not be too old to take full advantage of a 
second chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of their families, 
friends, and communities. I believe setting an eligibility age of 45 
rather than 6o will better achieve the goal we all share.
  I am also concerned about the rehabilitation and treatment of 
juvenile offenders in my home state of Texas as it appears that the 
administrators of TYC have neglected their duties. The April 10, 2007 
``Dallas Morning News'', reported that ``two former Texas Youth 
Commission administrators were indicted on charges that they sexually 
abused teenage inmates at the state juvenile prison in Pyote''. The 
same article also cited the 2005 investigative report by Texas Rangers' 
Sgt. Burzynski which found that the two indicted TYC administrators, 
Brookins and Hernandez, had repeatedly molested inmates in the Pyote 
prison. The report is cited as saying that Mr. Brookins, who during 
some periods was the top official, had shown sex toys and pornography 
in his office, while Mr. Hernandez molested inmates in classrooms and 
closets.
  I hope that all of my colleagues would join me in supporting the 
Second Chance Act as well as my bill H.R. 261, the Federal Prison 
Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2007. It is time to make a 
change.

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