[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 3, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H9191-H9192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   GOOD CONDUCT TIME CREDITS FOR CERTAIN ELDERLY NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS

  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4018) to provide that the amount of time that an elderly 
offender must serve before being eligible for placement in home 
detention is to be reduced by the amount of good time credits earned by 
the prisoner, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4018

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. GOOD CONDUCT TIME CREDITS FOR CERTAIN ELDERLY 
                   NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS.

       Section 231(g)(5)(A)(ii) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 
     (34 U.S.C. 60541(g)(5)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking ``to 
     which the offender was sentenced'' and inserting ``reduced by 
     any credit toward the service of the prisoner's sentence 
     awarded under section 3624(b) of title 18, United States 
     Code''.

     SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Deutch) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4018 is a modest, but important, bill that I 
introduced with Ranking Member Collins to address an inadvertent 
drafting error in the Second Chance Act, one that has prevented elderly 
offenders who qualify for early release under a pilot program for 
compassionate release from receiving credit for the good conduct time 
they have accrued while in custody.
  Our Nation's Federal prison population is rapidly aging. Of the 1.5 
million adults currently in State and Federal prisons, there has been a 
300 percent spike in the elderly population since 1999. By 2050, it is 
estimated that one-third of the prison population of the United States 
will be over age 50.
  Today more people die of old age in U.S. prisons than ever before, 
and from 2001 to 2007 alone, nearly 8,500 people over age 55 died 
behind bars. The Federal prisoner reentry initiative, a pilot program 
created under the Second Chance Act, allows offenders who are elderly 
and have served at least two-thirds of their sentence to petition for 
release from prison and to serve their remaining term of imprisonment 
in a halfway house. This program is not only humane, it is fiscally 
responsible.
  The increasing number of elderly prisoners is leading to soaring 
costs for the Bureau of Prisons. With a more elderly prisoner 
population, prison infrastructure must be outfitted or equipped to 
accommodate the unique needs of elderly prisoners. Prisons need to be 
outfitted with ramps, lower bed heights, bunk beds eliminated, 
handrails installed in showers, and other structural changes. Also, 
prison staff need to be trained to work with elderly prisoners and move 
elderly prisoners around the facilities.
  We imprison too many elderly inmates unnecessarily for far too long, 
and the data reveals that the recidivism rate is reduced dramatically 
as the population ages. Good conduct time is provided to all prisoners 
who have satisfactory behavior in the Bureau of Prisons. A prisoner can 
earn 54 days of good conduct time or days off their sentence per year, 
however, due to an inadvertent error in the Federal prisoner reentry 
initiative, elderly inmates are not permitted to receive credit for 
good conduct.
  Elderly inmates, who otherwise have satisfactory behavior, should not 
lose the good conduct time they have earned solely as a result of this 
drafting error. Such an unjust result was not the intent of Congress 
when drafting the Second Chance Act, as the intent behind this 
compassionate program is to release a vulnerable population from prison 
when they present little risk to their communities.
  H.R. 4018 would correct this problem, and therefore, I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill. Mr. Speaker, I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4018, the elderly offender 
good conduct time legislation. Last year, Ranking Member Collins and 
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries led the way in drafting and shepherding 
through Congress the First Step Act. Attorney General Barr has 
repeatedly stated his intent to fully implement the provisions of the 
act.
  Our job as legislators in this space is twofold; first, to conduct 
oversight to ensure the First Step Act is responsibly implemented; and, 
two, to address issues in that implementation.
  One such technical issue is addressed by H.R. 4018. This bill would 
allow the Bureau of Prisons to transfer eligible elderly, nonviolent 
offenders from BOP facilities into home confinement when they have 
reached 60 years of age and served two-thirds of the term of 
imprisonment to which they were sentenced.
  This is a bill technical in nature designed to correct a flaw in the 
First Step Act that will promote fairness in the implementation of good 
conduct time, as reformed in the First Step Act, and ensure our prisons 
do not become nursing homes. I believe that if we do not ensure that 
this act works, we will lose credibility with the American people, and 
any future efforts to reform our criminal justice system will fail.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do 
the same. I thank the gentleman for his support of this fine 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Cline, Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member 
Collins, and Mr. Jeffries for their leadership on this effort.
  Mr. Speaker, the process for earning time off for good conduct in 
prison is important as a matter of fairness and also effective prison 
administration.
  Individuals who earn good conduct time should not lose credit for 
this time because of an error in a statute, and elderly, nonviolent 
offenders should receive credit for the time they have earned.
  Therefore, H.R. 4018 is required to address an unfortunate, 
inadvertent

[[Page H9192]]

error. I am glad that it will. I appreciate the support, and for all of 
these reasons I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this good, 
bipartisan bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4018, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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