[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RESTORING EDUCATION AND LEARNING (REAL) ACT

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                         HON. DONNA F. EDWARDS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 2015

  Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Restoring 
Education and Learning (REAL) Act, legislation that will curb our 
nation's high incarceration rate through the avenue of education.
  Joined by Reps. Davis, Lee, Scott, DeLauro and Richmond, our 
legislation will reinstate Pell Grant eligibility to federal and state 
prisoners, which was allowed from 1972-1995. A provision in the 1994 
omnibus crime bill amended the 1965 Higher Education Act and reversed 
this rehabilitating and well invested policy.
  Back then, 350 postsecondary prison programs in 37 states existed 
across the nation for incarcerated individuals. That ability to gain 
post-secondary education has been drastically reduced to about a dozen 
today. Subsequently, our state and federal population has increased by 
nearly 50 percent from 1 million to 1.5 million today.
  According to a recent Vera Institute study, it costs American 
taxpayers roughly $31,000 a year to house an inmate. In my home state 
of Maryland, it costs taxpayers more than $38,000 a year to house an 
inmate. Overall, our nation spends roughly $40 billion a year on 
correctional facilities.
  This comes despite a recent report by the RAND Corporation, which 
found that for every $1 investment in prison education programs there 
is a $4-5 dollar reduction in incarceration costs during the first 
three years post-release of a prisoner.
  Earlier this month, I visited the Maryland Correctional Institution 
in Jessup as an observer of Goucher College's Prison Education 
Partnership. I was inspired as I sat down with incarcerated men and 
women taking college courses and asking for the opportunity to better 
serve society once they are released.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to cosponsor this 
important and much needed piece of legislation.

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