[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 164 (Thursday, October 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8205-H8206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SECOND CHANCES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Budd) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss second chances.
  Across our Nation, one in three adults have an arrest or conviction 
that makes it difficult to find a job.
  Take Kevin Miller, for example, who was incarcerated for 8 months in 
1992 after a minor altercation with police officers.
  Kevin was only 19 at the time, but more than a quarter century later, 
Kevin hasn't been able to get a steady job because he must disclose his 
arrest on every job application.
  Michael Mirsky faced similar hardships. He lost his job as a Verizon 
technician in 2012 after he pled guilty to resisting arrest during a 
disagreement over child support payments. In the years following the 
incident, he faced foreclosure of his home, and even as the economy 
improved and more and more jobs became available, Mr. Mirsky was unable 
to find a permanent job and start rebuilding his life.
  Mr. Speaker, stories like Kevin's and Michael's are all too common. 
In fact, more than 70 million Americans have minor criminal records 
that they must disclose on job applications. As a result, millions of 
Americans have been turned down from countless jobs for mistakes made 
decades ago.
  The reluctance of employers to hire people with criminal records, 
combined with job applications that contain check-the-box measures, has 
detrimental effects on the economy and prevents millions of Americans 
from becoming productive members of society.
  In addition, excluding people with minor criminal records from the 
workforce, often results in their return to crime and to drugs.
  That is why I am proud to cosponsor the Fair Chance Act, which 
prohibits the Federal Government and Federal contractors from asking 
about a job applicant's prior criminal record before a conditional 
offer of employment. This process humanizes applicants and gives them a 
chance to meet employers face to face and explain their past before 
employers make a sweeping judgment based on one checked box.
  Mr. Speaker, America is a land of second chances. Barriers to 
employment should not follow a person long after they have served time, 
paid their debt to society, and started a new life. People deserve the 
freedom to redeem themselves.
  As my colleagues go to conference over the NDAA, I urge them to 
include this legislation as part of any final deal.

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