[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2365-S2368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. PAUL (for himself and Mr. Booker):
S. 827. A bill to provide for the sealing or expungement of records
relating to Federal nonviolent criminal offenses, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Record
Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment Act, or REDEEM Act. This
bill would take meaningful steps towards allowing returning citizens to
obtain employment. As President George W. Bush said in his 2004 State
of the Union Address, ``America is the land of the second chance, and
when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a
better life.'' The REDEEM Act would help provide people with that
second chance after their incarceration. I thank Senator Paul for his
tireless work with me on the REDEEM Act.
In the last 30 years, the number of incarcerated people in the United
States has drastically increased. Since 1980, the federal prison
population alone has grown by nearly 800 percent and American taxpayers
are left paying for the bill. In fiscal year 2014, the Bureau of
Prisons accounted for a quarter of the Department of Justice's budget
at $6.9 billion. Our bloated criminal justice system wastes priceless
human potential and fails to make our communities safer. It also fails
to adequately prepare the over 600,000 people each year who are
released from prison for their return to the community.
A high number of Americans living in our communities have criminal
convictions. About 70 million people in the United States have been
arrested or convicted of a crime. That means almost one in three adults
in the United States has a criminal record. In fact, in our Nation's
Capital alone, an estimated 1 in 10 DC residents has a criminal record.
The American Bar Association has identified over 44,500 ``collateral
consequences''--or legal constraints--placed on what individuals with
records can do once they are released from prison. Of those, up to 70
percent are related to employment.
Today, a criminal conviction is a modern-day scarlet letter that,
because of the so-called War on Drugs, has had a disproportionate
impact on communities of color. For example, African-American men with
a conviction are 40 percent less likely to receive an interview. And
the likelihood that Latino men with a record will receive an interview
or be offered a job is 18 percent smaller than the likelihood for white
men.
To increase public safety, reduce recidivism, and protect the future
of our children, I am proud to re-introduce the REDEEM Act. This bill
would incentivize states to raise the age of original jurisdiction for
criminal courts to 18 years old. Trying juveniles who have committed
low-level, nonviolent crimes as adults is counterproductive. They do
not emerge from prison reformed and ready to reintegrate into school,
nor will the criminal record they have help them obtain a job.
This change in law is important for protecting our children's
futures. For kids in the dozen states that treat 17- and even 16-year-
olds as adults, no longer would getting into a school yard scuffle
result in an adult record that could follow an individual for the rest
of their life, restrict access to a college degree, limit job
prospects, or lead to likely recidivism.
The bill would enhance Federal juvenile record confidentiality and
provide for automatic expungement of records for kids who commit
nonviolent crimes before they turn 15 and automatic sealing of records
for those who commit nonviolent crimes after they turn 15.
The bill would ban the very cruel and counterproductive practice of
juvenile solitary confinement that can have immediate and long-term
detrimental effects on a youth's mental and physical health. In fact,
the majority of suicides by juveniles in prisons occur when young
people are placed in solitary confinement. Other nations even consider
it torture.
The REDEEM Act would, for adults, offer the first broad-based federal
path to the sealing of criminal records. A person who commits a
nonviolent crime will be able to petition a court for sealing of the
record, so their future job prospects are not harmed.
And the bill would enhance the accuracy of criminal justice records.
Employers requesting a background check from the FBI will be provided
with only relevant and accurate information thanks to a provision that
will protect job applicants by improving the quality of the Bureau's
background check.
Think about this: 17 million background checks were done by the FBI
in 2013, many of them for private providers, and upward of half of them
were
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inaccurate or incomplete, often causing people to lose a job, miss an
economic opportunity, and be trapped with few economic options other
than to reoffend in order to feed a child or pay a debt.
The bill helps guard against gender disparities in federal juvenile
delinquency proceedings. Additionally, it would ensure that programming
and services are distributed evenly among male and female juveniles.
Oftentimes, juvenile females receive less programming and resources
than males because of the smaller size of the female prison population.
This is wrong and this bill take a step forward to fix the problem.
Finally, the REDEEM Act would lift a ban on two critical Federal
benefits: the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families. The intent of those Federal programs is
to keep low-income families from going hungry. Yet those convicted of
drug felonies lose the right to obtain such benefits. Once an
individual has paid his or her debt to society, a path to the
reinstatement of those benefits should be available.
I am proud to introduce the REDEEM Act today. Again, I thank Senator
Paul for partnering with me on this bill. I urge this bill's speedy
passage.
______
By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Warren, and Mr.
Markey):
S. 836. A bill to amend the Federal Credit Union Act to exclude a
loan secured by a non-owner occupied 1- to 4-family dwelling from the
definition of a member business loan, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, most of us have heard the metaphor that
small businesses are the engines that power our economy. What we don't
hear people talk about as much is the fuel that feeds the engines:
capital. Without capital, entrepreneurs cannot see their ideas to
fruition, successful business owners cannot expand to meet the needs of
the market, and eager job seekers must take their skills elsewhere.
Without capital, Main Street falters, and Wall Street keeps the
advantage.
Today, more than 9 years after the start of the great recession and
many policy reforms later, access to capital remains a challenge. This
capital drought hampers small business growth, economic development,
and job creation in Oregon and across the country. Despite this,
government regulation continues to tie the hands of many willing small
businesses lenders--namely, credit unions. According to some estimates,
credit unions could lend an additional $11 billion to small businesses
if Congress loosened restraints on credit union business lending.
With this in mind, I am pleased to introduce today the Credit Union
Residential Loan Parity Act with Senator Murkowski. This bill would
increase access to capital by exempting certain loans from the member
business lending cap imposed on credit unions. Currently, loans made
for one- to four- person, non-owner-occupied housing are treated as
business loans when they are made by credit unions. As such, these
types of loans count against a credit union's business lending cap,
effectively limiting a credit union's ability to provide loans to small
businesses. Our legislation would address this issue by allowing credit
unions to treat these types of loans as residential loans--the same
treatment these kinds of loans receive when made by other financial
institutions. In effect, the bill would exempt residential loans from
the business lending cap. This exemption would increase access to
capital for small businesses, which in turn would create jobs and grow
our local economies. In addition to generally increasing credit union
lending, our legislation would directly free up capital for small
businesses that make much needed investments in rental housing.
I am hopeful that this legislation will be received by colleagues for
what it is--a simple step to help ensure America's small businesses
have access to the fuel they need to power our economy.
It is my hope that the Senate will pass this legislation swiftly.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 836
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Credit Union Residential
Loan Parity Act''.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF A NON-OWNER OCCUPIED 1- TO 4-FAMILY
DWELLING.
(a) Removal From Member Business Loan Limitation.--Section
107A(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C.
1757a(c)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ``that is the
primary residence of a member''.
(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or the
amendment made by this Act shall preclude the National Credit
Union Administration from treating an extension of credit
that is fully secured by a lien on a 1- to 4-family dwelling
that is not the primary residence of a member as a member
business loan for purposes other than the member business
loan limitation requirements under section 107A of the
Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1757a).
______
By Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Ernst,
Mr. Brown, and Mr. Portman):
S. 842. A bill to prohibit Federal agencies and Federal contractors
from requesting that an applicant for employment disclose criminal
history record information before the applicant has received a
conditional offer, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs.
Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Fair Chance
to Compete for Jobs Act of 2017, also known as the Fair Chance Act.
This criminal justice reform bill is designed to help returning
citizens successfully obtain jobs and reintegrate into society. As the
nation's largest employer, it is time the Federal Government leads by
example and delays the criminal history inquiry until later in the
hiring process. I thank Senator Johnson for his leadership on the Fair
Chance Act, and I deeply appreciate Senators Baldwin, Ernst, Brown, and
Portman for joining the bill as original cosponsors.
Everyone deserves the dignity of work and the opportunity for a
second chance to earn a living. But far too many Americans who return
home from behind bars have to disclose convictions on their initial
employment application or initial job interview that often serve as
insurmountable barriers to employment. This legislation would ensure
that people with convictions--who have paid their debt to society and
want to turn their lives around--have a fair chance to work.
By encouraging Federal employers to focus on an individual's
qualifications and merit and not solely on past mistakes, the Fair
Chance Act would remove burdensome and unnecessary obstacles that
prevent formerly incarcerated people from reaching their full potential
and contributing to society. It would also help reduce recidivism,
combat poverty, and prevent violence in our communities by helping
people get back to work.
Creating employment opportunities for our returning citizens benefits
public safety. With little hope of obtaining a decent paying job,
returning citizens are often left with few options but to return to a
life of crime. A 2011 study in the Justice Quarterly concluded that the
lack of employment was the single most negative determinant of
recidivism. A report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that of
the over 400,000 State prisoners released in 2005, 67.8 percent of them
were rearrested within 3 years of their release, and 76.6 percent were
rearrested within 5 years of their release.
Creating employment opportunities for our returning citizens
strengthens our economy. Poor job prospects for people with records
reduced our Nation's gross domestic product in 2008 between $57 billion
and $65 billion. With an increasingly competitive global economy and to
maintain America's competitive advantage, we must promote employment of
all Americans.
Today, I introduce the Fair Chance Act, which would help eliminate
barriers to employment for formerly incarcerated people and bring
America closer to truly being a land of opportunity for all. It would
preclude the federal government--including the executive, legislative,
and judicial
[[Page S2367]]
branches--from requesting criminal history information from applicants
until they reach the conditional offer stage.
This bill strikes the right balance. It would allow qualified people
with criminal records to get their foot in the door and be judged on
their own merit. At the same time, the legislation would allow
employers to know an individual's criminal history before the job
applicant is hired.
This bill would prohibit federal contractors from requesting criminal
history information from candidates for positions within the scope of
Federal contracts until a conditional job offer has been extended.
Companies that do business with the Federal Government and receive
Federal funds should espouse good hiring practices. The Fair Chance Act
would permit Federal contractors to inquire about criminal history
earlier in the hiring process if the job requires a candidate to access
classified information.
The bill includes exceptions for sensitive positions where criminal
history inquiries are necessary earlier in the application process.
Exceptions include positions involving classified information,
sensitive national security duties, armed forces, and law enforcement
jobs, and jobs where criminal history information is legally required.
Finally, the Fair Chance Act would require the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, in coordination with the U.S. Census Bureau, to report to
Congress on the employment statistics of returning citizens. Currently,
no comprehensive tracking of data on the employment histories of people
with convictions exists. This provision would change that and allow us
to better understand the scope of the problem people with convictions
face when trying to find a job.
I am proud to reintroduce the Fair Chance Act. I want to again thank
the bill cosponsors and their leadership on this issue. I urge this
legislation's speedy passage.
______
By Ms. HASSAN:
S. 848. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to encourage
entrepreneurship by providing loan deferment and loan cancellation for
founders and employees of small business startups, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce my first bill in
the U.S. Senate--a bill to help relieve the burden of student debt for
young entrepreneurs from New Hampshire and the entire country.
Most of us have seen personally how heavily the burden of student
loan debt weighs on students and families across New Hampshire. Less
visible, but no less important, is how student loan debt is weighing
down our economy--stifling innovation and job creation.
Student loan debt is preventing the next generation of entrepreneurs
and innovators from opening their own businesses. A New York Times
report highlighted that the percentage of new entrepreneurs between 20-
34 years old fell to 25 percent in 2014, down from almost 35 percent in
1996. And Gallup found that 19 percent of graduates with student loan
debt say they have delayed starting a business because of it.
It is time to once again unleash the entrepreneurial potential of our
young people into creating the jobs of the future. That is why this
week I introduced the Reigniting Opportunity for Innovators, ROI, Act,
the first bill I am writing as a U.S. Senator, which would help provide
the relief necessary for young entrepreneurs to start up and grow
innovative small businesses.
The ROI Act will allow eligible founders and full-time employees of
certified small business to defer their Federal student loan payments
and interest accrual for up to 3 years while launching a startup. This
will help give graduates the financial stability they need to take the
risk of starting a business that can create good-paying jobs.
Additionally, this legislation provides an additional incentive for
startup companies to move off the beaten path to help revitalize
struggling communities. If the startup is located in an economically
distressed area, founders and employees will be eligible for
cancellation of up to $20,000 in student loans.
The ROI Act is an important step that we can take now to help young
entrepreneurs and lay the foundation for a new generation of economic
growth.
New businesses are historically the top job creators in our country,
and small businesses are the driving force of New Hampshire's economy.
But to get the education they need to compete for jobs in the 21st
century economy, students are taking on more debt than ever before. In
2015, college graduates left school with an average of $30,000 of
student loan debt, and New Hampshire students had the highest average
student debt in the country.
At a roundtable discussion at Keene State College, I heard from
students about the challenges posed by their student loan debt. One
young woman told me that she hoped to start her own business but that
she would likely have to put off that goal for another 10 years because
of her student loan debt.
Any entrepreneur will tell you that getting a small business off the
ground is expensive. These costs, mixed with student loan debt, make it
even more daunting for young entrepreneurs to consider taking the leap
of starting a new business. Student debt decreases the cash flow of
potential entrepreneurs, it hurts their ability to build equity, and it
can negatively affect credit scores and their ability to secure
financing.
With the deck too often stacked against them, we need to be doing
everything we can to support young entrepreneurs looking to start the
innovative businesses that will drive job-creation and move our economy
forward.
The ROI Act would work to drive our 21st century economy, but we know
that we have more work to do to bring down the costs of higher
education and ensure that New Hampshire students, families, and
innovative businesses have the support they need. In addition to
working to pass this commonsense legislation, I will continue to focus
on expanding Pell grants, lowering interest rates for student loans and
allowing students to refinance, and increasing apprenticeship and job
training opportunities.
The ROI Act is an important step that we can take now to help young
entrepreneurs and lay the foundation for a new generation of economic
growth, and I look forward to working with members of both parties to
pass this commonsense bill.
______
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Cassidy):
S. 850. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish
fair and consistent eligibility requirements for graduate medical
schools operating outside the United States and Canada; to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 850
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Medical School
Accountability Fairness Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
To establish consistent eligibility requirements for
graduate medical schools operating outside of the United
States and Canada in order to increase accountability and
protect American students and taxpayer dollars.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Three for-profit schools in the Caribbean receive
nearly \3/4\ of all Federal funding under title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) that
goes to students enrolled at foreign graduate medical
schools, despite those three schools being exempt from
meeting the same eligibility requirements as the majority of
graduate medical schools located outside of the United States
and Canada.
(2) The National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and
Accreditation and the Department of Education recommend that
all foreign graduate medical schools should be required to
meet the same eligibility requirements to participate in
Federal funding under title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
(3) The attrition rate at United States medical schools
averaged 3.4 percent in 2014, while rates at for-profit
Caribbean medical schools have been known to reach 30
percent.
(4) In 2016, residency match rates for foreign trained
graduates averaged 54 percent compared to 94 percent for
graduates of medical schools in the United States.
(5) On average, students at for-profit medical schools
operating outside of the United
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States and Canada amass more student debt than those at
medical schools in the United States.
SEC. 4. REPEAL GRANDFATHER PROVISIONS.
Section 102(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002(a)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause (i) and
inserting the following:
``(i) in the case of a graduate medical school located
outside the United States--
``(I) at least 60 percent of those enrolled in, and at
least 60 percent of the graduates of, the graduate medical
school outside the United States were not persons described
in section 484(a)(5) in the year preceding the year for which
a student is seeking a loan under part D of title IV; and
``(II) at least 75 percent of the individuals who were
students or graduates of the graduate medical school outside
the United States or Canada (both nationals of the United
States and others) taking the examinations administered by
the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
received a passing score in the year preceding the year for
which a student is seeking a loan under part D of title
IV;''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by adding at the end the
following:
``(V) Expiration of authority.--The authority of a graduate
medical school described in subclause (I) to qualify for
participation in the loan programs under part D of title IV
pursuant to this clause shall expire beginning on the first
July 1 following the date of enactment of the Foreign Medical
School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017.''.
SEC. 5. LOSS OF ELIGIBILITY.
If a graduate medical school loses eligibility to
participate in the loan programs under part D of title IV of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.)
due to the enactment of the amendments made by section 4,
then a student enrolled at such graduate medical school on or
before the date of enactment of this Act may, notwithstanding
such loss of eligibility, continue to be eligible to receive
a loan under such part D while attending such graduate
medical school in which the student was enrolled upon the
date of enactment of this Act, subject to the student
continuing to meet all applicable requirements for
satisfactory academic progress, until the earliest of--
(1) withdrawal by the student from the graduate medical
school;
(2) completion of the program of study by the student at
the graduate medical school; or
(3) the fourth June 30 after such loss of eligibility.
______
By Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Carper, Mr.
Warner, Mr. Markey, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Udall, Ms. Hirono, Mrs.
Shaheen, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Kaine, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Brown):
S. 861. A bill to provide for the compensation of Federal employees
affected by lapses in appropriations; read the first time.
S. 861
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Employee Fair
Treatment Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. COMPENSATION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A
LAPSE IN APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 1341 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``An officer'' and
inserting ``Except as specified in this subchapter or any
other provision of law, an officer''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c)(1) In this subsection--
``(A) the term `covered lapse in appropriations' means any
lapse in appropriations that begins on or after April 28,
2017; and
``(B) the term `excepted employee' means an excepted
employee or an employee performing emergency work, as such
terms are defined by the Office of Personnel Management.
``(2) Each Federal employee furloughed as a result of a
covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the period
of the lapse in appropriations, and each excepted employee
who is required to perform work during a covered lapse in
appropriations shall be paid for such work, at the employee's
standard rate of pay, at the earliest date possible after the
lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay
dates.
``(3) During a covered lapse in appropriations, each
excepted employee who is required to perform work shall be
entitled to use leave under chapter 63 of title 5, or any
other applicable law governing the use of leave by the
excepted employee, for which compensation shall be paid at
the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations
ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates.''.
____________________