[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6058-6066]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bost). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add 
any extraneous material relevant to the subject matter of my Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening as co-anchor along with 
my classmate and scholar, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, from the Eighth 
District of New York, for tonight's Congressional Black Caucus Special 
Order hour, Equal Justice Under the Law: Criminal Justice Reform and 
Challenging the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
  Congressman Jeffries leads by example. He is a member of the Criminal 
Justice Task Force, and he has a long personal and professional history 
of being a Brother's Keeper.
  This evening the Congressional Black Caucus comes to the House floor 
to discuss the current state of America's criminal justice system and 
the necessary reform, reform that will allow us to invest in our 
communities and expand opportunities for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, the school-to-prison pipeline is an epidemic that is 
plaguing schools across the Nation. Mr. Speaker, the need and appetite 
to reform our Federal criminal justice system has been building for 
years, and now it is clear that there is consensus that the time is now 
to take meaningful action.
  The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the policies and practices 
that pushes our Nation's children, especially our most at-risk 
children, out of the classroom and into the juvenile and criminal 
justice system. Far too often, students are expended, expelled, or even 
arrested for minor offenses that lead to visits to the principal's 
office a thing of the past.
  Statistics reflect that these policies disproportionately target 
students of color and those with a history of abuse, neglect, poverty, 
or learning disabilities. Those who are unnecessarily forced out of 
school become stigmatized and fall behind in their studies, Mr. 
Speaker. Many eventually decide to drop out of school altogether, and 
many others commit crimes in their community.
  Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder discussed the issue in a 
speech to the American Bar Association in 2013, stating that rigid 
discipline policies transformed too many educational institutions from 
the doorway of opportunity into the gateway to the criminal justice 
system and that a minor school disciplinary offense should put a 
student in the principal's office, not in the police precinct.
  According to recent data by the Department of Education, African 
American students are arrested far more than their White classmates. 
Black and Hispanic students represent more than 70 percent of those 
involved in school-related arrests or referrals to law enforcement. 
Currently, African Americans make up two-fifths of combined youth 
today, Mr. Speaker.
  In my home State of Ohio, the impact of suspensions and expulsions on 
communities is striking. In Ohio, a history of prior suspensions from 
school is the number one factor that leads children to dropping out of 
school. Children who do not finish high school, as we all are aware, 
are more likely to end up incarcerated or in our juvenile or criminal 
justice system and are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested.
  Approximately 82 percent of the adult population is composed of high 
school dropouts. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this is a pipeline that 
reflects the prioritization of incarceration over education. But, Mr. 
Speaker, I come today as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus 
because I believe we can disrupt the pipeline.
  To do this, we need to be honest about the opportunity gaps that 
exist across our country and in our schools because you cannot talk 
about the school-to-prison pipeline without discussing what needs to be 
provided as economic opportunities.
  We need better educational chances for our young people. We need more 
support to our families so that they can do the best job that they can 
or that they are capable of doing to help support their own children. 
We must confront prejudices in our Nation head-on.
  That is why initiatives like the White House's My Brother's Keeper is 
so important. My Brother's Keeper Task Force is a coordinated Federal 
effort to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young 
men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full 
potential.
  Mr. Speaker, lastly, this past weekend I met with the dynamic men of 
the Columbus chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, in my 
district and saw My Brother's Keeper work firsthand.
  I learned of their many forms of being role models, as being 
community mentors for at-risk students, particularly young males, who 
are in need of inspiration and counsel regarding their choice of a 
life's career.
  The mentoring men of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, are 
men who are doctors, lawyers, government officials, teachers, and 
entrepreneurs, just to name a few.
  Mr. Speaker, these men are role models for the community. They bought 
a house in my district, and they use that home as an anchor to provide 
opportunities and leadership development, professional networking, and 
positive reinforcement.
  Tonight it is important for me to put a face on what we need to do as 
one small example to stop the school-to-prison pipeline. I salute 
Philip Shotwell, Polemarch; Richard Crockett, 1st Vice Polemarch; 
Attorney Byron Potts; Dr. Gus Parker; and Board of Directors Nathaniel 
Jordan for being men who understand, if we are going to stop the 
school-to-prison pipeline, we need to look at our own districts.
  A young man asked them why he should stay in school, and they 
replied: Young man, you are your own future. We are relying on you to 
be a law-abiding citizen, educated, self-sufficient, and a good citizen 
because we don't want you to be a statistic in the school-to-prison 
pipeline.

[[Page 6059]]

  Mr. Speaker, tonight you will hear many stories, you will hear facts, 
and you will hear about legislation.
  Let me end by saying that I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Safe, 
Accountable, Fair, Effective (SAFE) Justice Reinvestment Act of 2015, 
H.R. 2944, a bill that recognizes the importance of mentoring and 
reducing recidivism and helps offenders think through the decisions 
that confront them when they leave prison.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Butterfield), our chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, a person 
who has a long background in being an advocate and a fighter for those 
who are in our communities and faced with many of the things that you 
are going to hear tonight.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Beatty for 
yielding, thank her for her friendship, and thank her for all that she 
does not just for the Congressional Black Caucus, but for all that she 
does for the constituents that she represents back in Ohio and for what 
she does for all people in America.
  Let me also thank Congressman Jeffries for his great work and his 
willingness to participate in these Special Order hours. I know that 
the evening is late sometimes, but the two of them come to the floor 
and work very hard.
  I want to spend my few minutes, if I may, Mr. Speaker, talking about 
just an overview of the criminal justice system. There is no question 
that the criminal justice system is broken. All of us I think can agree 
on that. Those on the left and those on the right, all of us even, for 
different reasons, perhaps, come to one conclusion, that the criminal 
justice system is in need of serious, serious reform.
  I know that we are debating legislation here in the House regarding 
reforming the criminal justice system. Our colleagues over in the 
Senate are doing the same. But it is time for action. It is time for 
action on criminal justice reform in the 114th Congress.
  As many of my colleagues know, I spent 30 years, 30 long years, in a 
courtroom, half of those as a lawyer, the other half as a judge. Most 
of the 15 years as a judge I was a trial judge, which meant that I was 
on the front line in our criminal justice system and I saw it 
firsthand. I can tell you without question that the criminal justice 
system in America is in need of serious reform from the top to the 
bottom.
  We have all heard the statistics, and I am going to repeat them again 
tonight: 2.2 million Americans are in prison. Of that number, that 
number is disproportionately African American. That is 25 percent of 
the world's prison population right here in the United States of 
America.
  Just think about that, Mr. Speaker. We are 5 percent of the world's 
population, but 25 percent of those who are incarcerated are 
incarcerated in the United States of America. We have a serious problem 
of mass incarceration that must be reduced.
  But the point that I want to put in the Record tonight is that, of 
those who are incarcerated in this country, 90 percent of those are 
incarcerated at the State level and 10 percent incarcerated at the 
Federal level--90 percent incarcerated at the State level.

                              {time}  1930

  When we discuss criminal justice reform--and Congressman Bobby Scott 
is going to be speaking in a few minutes, and he talks about this all 
of the time, as well as Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee--we must not 
only talk about reform at the Federal level, but we must find ways to 
require States to reform their criminal justice systems at the local 
level. We should encourage States to take a serious look at their 
systems and to seek ways to reduce mass incarceration at the State 
level without posing any harm to the communities. Too many of those who 
are incarcerated at the State level are in prison for drug-related 
offenses and crimes that don't endanger the community whatsoever.
  We should encourage States to enact expungement laws. We get 
telephone calls all the time--and I am sure my colleagues get the same 
calls as well--from those who are seeking ways to expunge their records 
so that young men and women who have served in the criminal justice 
system can get some of those offenses removed from their records, 
particularly those offenses that deal with petty crimes and 
misdemeanors and drug-related offenses, because when you have these 
offenses on your criminal record, it prevents young people from getting 
the gainful employment that they so richly deserve.
  We also need to encourage States to look at ways to remove criminal 
charges from criminal records that did not result in convictions. I 
think most of my colleagues can relate to that. We know that, so often, 
police officers at the local level will charge a young offender with 
multiple offenses at the time of arrest, and some of the offenses are 
not even deserving of a charge. Sometimes police have a tendency to 
overcharge at the time of arrest. Then when the case finally goes to 
court, those 10 or 12 charges are reduced down to one charge or two 
charges; the defendant pleads guilty; and the case is disposed of while 
the other 8 or 10 charges that are dismissed continue to be on the 
young person's criminal record for a lifetime. So often, just the fact 
that the individual has been charged with a crime prevents that young 
person from getting a job. So often, it makes a difference.
  Finally, I thank Mrs. Beatty for talking about using the court system 
to punish students. That happens. It happens in every State in America. 
Our public school systems cannot, and should not, use the court system 
as a means of punishment for students who have behavioral problems in 
school.
  I thank all of my colleagues for all of their work. I thank them for 
their efforts. I thank them for their tremendous interest in this 
subject because it is real. We know it. We need criminal justice 
reform, and we need it now.
  Mrs. BEATTY. I thank Congressman Butterfield.
  We certainly agree with you that the criminal justice system is 
broken. That is why the Congressional Black Caucus is here tonight--to 
make sure that we are prepared to outline the steps and the legislation 
that is going to be in the forefront. I thank the gentleman for his 
leadership in making this a top priority for the Congressional Black 
Caucus.
  Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor and privilege to yield to the 
gentleman from the Third Congressional District of Virginia. He is a 
true scholar, an attorney, and someone who is a leader on tonight's 
topic. He is someone who has worked tirelessly to make sure that we do 
more than just come and stand and talk about this issue tonight. He 
comes to talk about real reform, to talk about making a difference in 
our broken criminal justice system. He is my friend, Congressman Bobby 
Scott.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentlewoman.
  I appreciate the gentleman from New York and certainly the 
gentlewoman from Ohio for organizing this Special Order to discuss the 
need for criminal justice reform.
  Mr. Speaker, we have serious, fundamental problems with our criminal 
justice system today. For too long, policymakers have chosen to play 
politics with crime policy by enacting so-called tough on crime slogans 
and sound bites, such as three strikes and you are out, mandatory 
minimum sentences, and--if you get it to rhyme, apparently, it is 
better--if you do the adult crime, you do the adult time. As appealing 
as these policies sound, their impacts range from a negligible 
reduction in crime to actually increasing the crime rate.
  As a result of these policies, the United States, despite 
representing only 5 percent of the world's population, has 25 percent 
of the world's prisoners and now has the highest incarceration rate of 
any nation's, by far, in the world. There are 2.2 million people behind 
bars in this country. That is triple the number of prisoners we had 
just three decades ago. At over 700 persons incarcerated for every 
100,000 in the population, the United States far exceeds the world's 
average incarceration rate of about 100 per 100,000.
  Recent studies have questioned the sanity of this mass incarceration. 
For

[[Page 6060]]

example, the Pew Research Center on States estimates that after about 
350 per 100,000, any crime reduction value begins to diminish, and at 
over 500 per 100,000, incarceration becomes, actually, 
counterproductive. As I said, our rate is now at 700 per 100,000.
  These counterproductive effects are created because today there are 
too many children who are being raised by a parent who is in prison and 
by too many people with felony records who are unable to find jobs. The 
impact of our tax dollars is also distressing. The Bureau of Prisons is 
consuming too much of the Department of Justice's budget, meaning that 
the Department has fewer and fewer resources for other programs that 
can actually reduce crime and enhance public safety. The tough on crime 
approach falls the hardest on minorities. While the incarceration rate 
overall in the United States is approximately 700 per 100,000, for 
Blacks, the incarceration rate is over 2,200 per 100,000; and in some 
jurisdictions, they lock up Blacks at the rate of 4,000 per 100,000--a 
rate 40 times the international average.
  The war on drugs has exacerbated this problem. Over 2,000 Federal 
prisoners are now serving life without parole for nonviolent drug 
crimes, and many more are serving unduly harsh sentences for nonviolent 
offenses. The racial disparities are staggering. Despite the fact that 
Whites engage in drug offenses at a rate equal to or often higher than 
that of African Americans, African Americans are incarcerated on drug 
charges at a rate 10 times greater than that of Whites.
  We all agree that there is a problem with mass incarceration. So what 
is the best way to solve it?
  When reviewing any legislative package called criminal justice 
reform, I think there are some key principles that we have to address.
  First, reform must meaningfully address the problem of mass 
incarceration by significantly reducing admissions to prison and 
shortening a prisoner's length of stay.
  Second, any reform must address the primary driver of the ballooning 
Federal prison populations, and that is mandatory minimum penalties, 
especially those for drug and firearm offenses.
  Third, we must address the disparate impact on race in the Federal 
criminal justice system that has resulted from the application of many 
neutrally worded policies and laws.
  Fourth, reform must address mental health and addiction issues as a 
public health issue and require intervention and treatment plans to 
resolve underlying issues that led those to be involved in the criminal 
justice system rather than implement so-called tough on crime, lock 'em 
up approaches. Everybody knows that the war on drugs has failed. We 
need to address drug abuse more as a public health issue and less as a 
criminal justice issue.
  Fifth, we must provide comprehensive reentry and rehabilitation 
services and incentives for completing those programs that are found to 
actually work, with a particular focus on those with the greatest need.
  Finally, any legislation must be based on research and evidence, not 
on poll-tested slogans and sound bites or political negotiations, which 
are unrelated to research and evidence.
  How do the current proposals stack up?
  First, we look at the current bills that have been reported out of 
the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and notice that they fail to 
embody any of the principles. In fact, they often take the opposite 
approach.
  While these bills reduce the number of admissions and/or length of 
stay in some limited cases, they also create new mandatory minimums, 
even new mandatory minimums or mandatory consecutive enhancements. They 
enhance existing mandatory minimums to apply to people who would not 
get them under the present law, and they irrationally limit who can 
benefit from prospective and retroactive relief provisions. It is 
unknown whether there will be an overall increase or decrease in prison 
impact at the 10-year point after implementation, if these bills pass, 
compared to doing nothing. The United States Sentencing Commission has 
been unable to quantify the impact of the expansions or the limitations 
on relief. So the fact that we do not have the numbers means that we 
cannot determine whether these bills will have any meaningful effect on 
mass incarceration.
  Though the bills do shorten two supersized mandatory minimums, they 
do not eliminate any mandatory minimum. The Senate bill actually 
creates two new ones, and both bills create new mandatory consecutive 
sentencing enhancements, which must be served after any other sentence. 
Both bills expand mandatory minimums for drug and gun offenses by 
applying them to people who would not be eligible to receive them 
today.
  If the problem we are trying to address is mass incarceration, why 
are those in the bill to begin with?
  Neither of the bills will do anything to address the disparate racial 
impact that pervades our criminal justice system. Federal mandatory 
minimums, in particular those for drug and firearm offenses, have been 
studied and have been found to have a racially disparate impact. These 
bills do nothing to eliminate mandatory minimums. Even though they 
reduce some, they create new ones, expand others, and create new 
sentencing enhancements. So the bills may actually make racial 
disparities in sentencing even worse than they are under present law.
  Finally, both bills put limits on who can receive prospective and 
retroactive relief. If you look at the limitations, you will find that 
they have a racially disparate impact on minorities.
  On the issue of the war on drugs, both bills also fail to treat drug 
abuse and addiction as a public health problem. In fact, the strategy 
used in the bills to address heroin addiction is not a public health 
approach, for the bills impose mandatory additional prison time. This 
is not a public health, research-based approach.
  On the comprehensive reentry and rehabilitation services to reduce 
recidivism, these bills have turned science and empirical evidence 
upside down. They give the greatest incentives for completing the 
programs to those with the lowest need while categorically barring 
offenders with the highest risk from benefiting from the rehabilitation 
programs. This approach not only violates research, but it will 
exacerbate the current racial disparities in the criminal justice 
system.
  Mr. Speaker, there is ample research available to show what credible 
criminal justice reform ought to look like. For example, Texas--one of 
the Nation's most conservative States--recently passed criminal justice 
reform legislation that was based on research and evidence, and the 
result was a significant reduction in crime, a significant reduction in 
incarceration, and a savings of billions of dollars.
  The SAFE Justice Act--the Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Effective 
Justice Act--which I cosponsored with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner), which the gentlewoman from Ohio pointed out that she is 
supporting, was based on the Texas model and includes evidence-based 
prevention and early intervention programs; reducing incarceration even 
at the State level as well as at the Federal level; comprehensive 
police training and funding for body cameras, drug and veterans' 
courts; a significant reduction in the use of mandatory minimum 
sentences; and rehabilitation for all of those in prison and second-
chance programs for those who have been released. It has broad, 
bipartisan support. All of the provisions in the bill are fully paid 
for by reallocating the reduction in mandatory minimums, and it shows 
that we do not have to accept a bill that fails to conform to evidence 
and research.
  Mr. Speaker, criminal justice reform legislation ought to be 
consistent with the research and evidence that is readily available. 
From what I can tell, the bills reported out of the House and Senate 
Judiciary Committees have nothing based in research and evidence and, 
sadly, seem more concerned about the politics of criminal justice 
reform, with little regard to actually wanting to end our Nation's 
addiction to mass incarceration.

[[Page 6061]]

  The SAFE Justice Act is a better evidence-based approach, which will, 
if enacted, reduce crime, save money, and reduce racial disparities 
that pervade our criminal justice system.
  I appreciate the gentlewoman from Ohio and the gentleman from New 
York for hosting tonight's Special Order.

                              {time}  1945

  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Scott for clearly 
articulating to us why we cannot let our criminal justice system remain 
on this trajectory.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the Congresswoman from the 13th District 
of California. My colleague and my friend is someone who travels the 
world advocating for those who live in poverty, advocating for those 
who are incarcerated in this broken criminal justice system that we are 
focusing on tonight.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I first thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for 
those very kind and humbling remarks. I want to thank her for her 
tremendous leadership and for continuing to come down here each and 
every week to ensure that her voice, the Congressional Black Caucus' 
voice, and Congressman Jeffries' voice are really put forth so that the 
people of our country will understand the critical issues before us and 
the fact that the Congressional Black Caucus is really leading on each 
and every issue. Congresswoman Beatty and Congressman Jeffries really 
have done a phenomenal job. They both have gone way beyond the call of 
duty, and so we thank them so much for their efforts.
  Make no mistake--and I think we are hearing this over and over again 
tonight--mass incarceration is a crisis in our country. The United 
States of America imprisons far more people than any other nation in 
the world.
  When African Americans are incarcerated at six times the rate of 
Whites, it is no surprise to me. It is no surprise that African 
Americans constitute nearly half of the total 2.3 million incarcerated 
Americans in 2008. Together, African Americans and Latinos comprise 58 
percent of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and 
Latinos make up approximately one-quarter of the United States 
population.
  While our prison population grows unchecked and is growing unchecked, 
we continue to criminalize our students rather than invest in their 
education. Right now we spend $10,500 a year to educate a child, but we 
spend $88,000 a year to keep a child locked up. That is unacceptable. 
Let me repeat that. It costs eight times more money to keep a child in 
jail than to educate them and prepare them for a good future.
  We are not just talking about a few children here. Our country 
incarcerates five times more children than any other nation in the 
world. Sadly, two-thirds of these kids will never return to school. 
When we lock up these children, we are essentially throwing away the 
key. Instead of preparing them for a future, we are just getting them 
ready for a life in a cell.
  Now, let me be clear, from the moment many of these children are 
born, they are funneled into the prison pipeline. Simply put, the 
system is really stacked against them. For instance, one in three 
African American children lives in poverty today, while one in four 
Hispanic children lives in poverty.
  Mr. Speaker, while Black children represent just 18 percent of 
preschool enrollment, they account for nearly half of all preschool 
suspensions. Now, Congresswoman Beatty, we are talking toddlers ages 2 
to 5. These kids don't even get a start, let alone a head start. They 
are being suspended from school.
  How do you suspend toddlers and babies from school?
  Something is wrong with this. So we, I must say, in the 
Appropriations Committee are trying to address this with the Department 
of Education. This is immoral.
  When they get older, African American students are four times more 
likely to be expelled from school than their White peers for the same 
offense. More than half of all students who are involved in school-
related arrests or referred to law enforcement are Black or Latino. 
This has a lasting effect and impact on young students. Studies show 
that students who are disciplined by schools are more likely to end up 
in the juvenile justice system where their chances of returning to 
school are slim to none. This is unacceptable. These young people are 
having their futures ripped away before they even have a chance.
  We need to change the system and end the school-to-prison pipeline. 
First, we must start by making serious investments in our young people. 
We should ensure that all students have equal access to high-quality 
public school education. We must also expand summer youth job 
opportunities and summer training programs so that our teens have the 
opportunity to learn workforce skills, contribute to their communities, 
and start a path to economic opportunity. As a member of the 
Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, 
we are working to try to make sure that these resources become a 
priority of our subcommittee, which they, unfortunately, aren't at this 
point.
  We also need to tear down the institutional racism, quite frankly, 
that is holding students of color back and trapping our young people in 
a broken criminal justice system.
  I am reminded of when I was in the California legislature. I was on 
the public safety committee, and proposals were brought to us, plans 
for building prisons 10 to 12 years out for kids who are just starting 
kindergarten. That is what we had to deal with. Now we see what has 
happened to the prison industrial complex in California. That is why we 
must work together and pass legislation to end mass incarceration and 
fix our broken criminal justice system. We need to get rid of these 
outdated minimum sentencing standards. These are relics from the failed 
war on drugs and disproportionately target people of color.
  In California, once again, the three strikes law passed. Of course, I 
opposed that while in the California legislature. This law has 
incarcerated young African American men for nonviolent drug offenses 25 
years to life. That is 25 years to life for nonviolent drug offenses. 
We need to repeal that law.
  We also need to make sure that law enforcement officers reflect the 
diversity of communities that they police. So we have introduced H. 
Res. 262, which supports effective community-oriented policing and 
encourages greater diversity in law enforcement.
  During the last appropriation season, the Congressional Black Caucus 
worked with Congressman Lacy Clay to direct the Department of Justice 
to begin collecting training data. Our legislation tracks when officers 
receive training for use of force, racial and ethnic bias, de-
escalation of conflict, and constructive engagement with the public. 
This was just a small step, and we need to do more.
  With regard to reentry, banning the box is essential. We have worked 
with the White House to try to make sure that Federal contractors ban 
the box. We haven't accomplished that, but Federal agencies cannot now 
ask for one's criminal history records. In my district, we do 
expungement, we do record remedies. We have remedied thousands and 
thousands of young people who now can go on and move forward with their 
lives. I want to thank the Family Law Center in Oakland, California, 
for doing that.
  We need to go back to the drawing board and repeal the welfare reform 
provisions that are denied for life. There is a Federal ban for food 
stamps, eligibility for public housing, and Pell grants for those who 
have been incarcerated for drug felonies. Now, you know who that 
targets; primarily African American and Latino men. They don't even 
have a second chance when they get out of jail as a result of these 
lifetime bans.
  Finally, let me just say it is time to really look at this problem in 
a big way and to understand that we have to dismantle, not reform--but 
we have to dismantle this prison industrial complex and start investing 
in our communities, especially our young children.

[[Page 6062]]

And we must understand that, in doing this, we have to look at 
institutional and systemic racism, which is at the core of many of our 
policies.
  So this is a fight that we are going to win, but it is going to be 
because all of us here in the Congressional Black Caucus--Congresswoman 
Beatty, Congressman Jeffries, Congressman Scott, and Congresswoman 
Jackson Lee, and the entire membership--continue to fight the good 
fight to make sure that finally we will begin to see a real criminal 
justice system, which it is not right now.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Lee. When people ask 
us why are we doing this today, I thank the gentlewoman for reminding 
us that the system is stacked against us and that we have had the 
future of so many of our young folks ripped away from them.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great State of Ohio 
(Ms. Fudge). She is from the 11th Congressional District. She is an 
attorney. She has served as a former mayor. She is the immediate past 
chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
  She is someone who gives us advice. I remember her saying to us: Push 
the envelope because you are the voice for the voiceless. Look at the 
legislative issues that will make a difference in the lives of others.
  So tonight we come to talk about equal justice under the law. Mr. 
Speaker, we come to challenge this House.
  It is my great honor to yield to Congresswoman Marcia Fudge.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. It is a 
pleasure to watch my fellow Ohioan and friend and the gentleman from 
New York on this House floor every Monday night bringing the message of 
the Congressional Black Caucus because indeed they are the people who 
carry our message to the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, the school-to-prison pipeline is robbing far too many 
children of productive futures. Instead of learning in classrooms, a 
large percentage of our Nation's at-risk students sit in jail cells.
  The numbers don't lie. Black students are suspended and expelled at a 
rate three times greater than White students. More than one in four 
boys of color with disabilities and nearly one in five girls of color 
with disabilities receives an out-of-school suspension. And studies 
show that students who are suspended or expelled in school are more 
likely to end up in prison.
  Our Nation's children deserve better. It is time we prioritize 
education and not incarceration. Comprehensive criminal justice reform 
must include policies which dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. We 
must reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, a 
bill that funds delinquency prevention and improvements in State and 
local juvenile justice programs, supports restorative initiatives, and 
promotes early intervention. Disrupting the pipeline will provide a 
pathway for a successful future and lessen the burden on our current 
judicial system.
  The number of people incarcerated in America quadrupled between 1980 
and 2008. Of the more than 2.3 million Americans incarcerated today, 
more than 1 million of them are Black.
  In my home State of Ohio, more than 50,000 people are incarcerated in 
a system that was designed to only hold 39,000. And on average, States 
across this Nation spend $30,000 per year to house one inmate. That is 
at least $19,000 more per year than we spend to educate one child. It 
is time we get our priorities straight.
  As ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on 
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, promoting 
policies that keep our children in school is one of my top priorities.
  I ask my colleagues: What are yours?
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Fudge for reminding 
us again of the value and the importance of our work.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time, it is indeed my honor to yield time to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), who is coanchor of tonight's 
Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.
  As I said earlier, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is not only a scholar, 
he, too, is an attorney. He is someone who walks the talk. He is 
someone who has a long history of being a Brother's Keeper.
  Mr. Speaker, so tonight, when we discuss this topic, when we talked 
about the challenge, when we talked about all of the plethora of things 
that are incorporated in why we must come forward tonight to challenge 
the criminal justice system which is stacked against us and broken, 
certainly we have heard the disparities as it relates to African 
Americans.
  So it is indeed my honor to ask my coanchor, Congressman Hakeem 
Jeffries, to share with us our challenge.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from 
Ohio, my good friend, the distinguished and dynamic anchor for 
tonight's Special Order, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, for yielding and 
for her continued leadership and for leading the discussion on the 
House floor today as it relates the urgency of this Congress and 
America dealing with the school-to-prison pipeline mass incarceration 
and the prison industrial complex that so many of my colleagues have 
explained and exposed here on the House floor today.
  A few years ago I had a conversation that has always stuck with me in 
the area of criminal justice when I was speaking to a formally 
incarcerated individual who spent several years behind bars 
incarcerated in a New York State penitentiary. He has turned his life 
around and he is now an advocate for criminal justice reform. He said 
to me on his final day, after being imprisoned for years in upstate New 
York, that he had a conversation with a high-ranking corrections 
officer, a supervisor who he had gotten to know and thought he had 
befriended to some degree during his time of incarceration.

                              {time}  2000

  On that last day, he said to this young African American incarcerated 
individual who was on his way out, he said: I just want to thank you.
  This gentleman was a little perplexed. He wasn't sure what he was 
talking about. He said: I just want to thank you for helping me to get 
my boat; and beyond that, I want to thank your son, who is going to 
help my son get his boat as well.
  That conversation has really haunted me because, in such a powerful 
and profound way, what it captures is the essence of what the prison 
industrial complex represents, which is this decision that was made in 
so many parts of the United States of America, certainly in New York, 
by Democrats and Republicans.
  When the automobile factories and the steel mills, the manufacturing 
plants began to close in the 1970s and in the 1980s, devastating parts 
of the upstate economy, a decision was made in place of those factory 
jobs to build prisons in their place as a means of economic development 
for depressed upstate communities. But here is the problem. If you 
build it, someone has got to fill those prisons. In order to fill those 
prisons, several things have developed which we are in the process of 
trying to dismantle right now: the school-to-prison pipeline and the 
criminalization of young people, particularly in communities of color, 
where they basically are not given a chance from the very beginning. As 
a result of being channeled unjustly, often, into the criminal justice 
system at an early age, they essentially become economic commodities 
for those who have come to rely on prisons to replace the factory and 
manufacturing jobs that have left the United States of America.
  That has been a big problem in New York. It is a problem in other 
parts of the country. It is a shame here in the United States of 
America that we have gone from a place where, when the war on drugs 
began in 1971--President Nixon declared drug abuse public enemy number 
one--there were less than 350,000 people incarcerated in America. Even 
when the crime bill that is being heavily debated in the public domain 
right now was passed in 1994, at the height of the concern about crime

[[Page 6063]]

here in the United States of America, the incarcerated population was 
still under 900,000 people. But we have gone from less than 350,000 in 
1971 to under 900,000 in 1994 to more than 2.2 million in 2016.
  The United States has 5 percent of the world's population and 25 
percent of the world's incarcerated individuals. We incarcerate more 
people than any other country in the world, and it is shameful. The 
school-to-prison pipeline is a large part of that dynamic, along with 
the failed war on drugs. So we are going to have to deal with this 
situation in a meaningful way.
  The statistics clearly show that, if you suspend a young person, that 
individual--often a Black or Latino boy--is less likely to graduate and 
complete school and more likely to become entangled in the criminal 
justice system because we have applied an overly punitive approach to 
discipline, particularly in the inner city.
  Now, in this Chamber, I have seen surprising levels of compassion as 
it relates to dealing with the heroin and opioid crisis that is 
sweeping across America right now, and I am glad that folks have 
decided to take a different approach than the approach that was taken 
in the 1980s with the crack cocaine epidemic that was sweeping across 
communities that those of us in the Congressional Black Caucus 
represent.
  I welcome this newfound compassion. I just hope that you would extend 
it now not just to the manner in which we deal with the heroin crisis--
that is important--but let's extend it to the overcriminalization that 
is taking place as relates to young people across America, particularly 
in Black and Brown communities.
  I am glad that we have become enlightened as it relates to moving 
away from punishment and toward prevention and intervention related to 
the heroin and opioid crisis. Let's also become enlightened in terms of 
dealing with breaking the school-to-prison pipeline.
  We will have more to say as we move forward with this discussion, but 
I know there are other Members who would like to contribute to this 
hour of power that Representative Joyce Beatty has brought to the House 
floor in connection with the CBC Special Order.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Jeffries for reminding 
us that the United States makes up less than 5 percent of the world's 
population, yet incarcerates nearly a quarter of the global prison 
population.
  Thank you for also being on point and reminding us, Mr. Speaker, if 
we are to reform America's criminal justice system and advance efforts 
to break the cycles of incarceration in African American communities, 
in low-income communities, then we must unite and make sure that we 
pass real legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, can you advise me how much time we have left, please.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Ohio has 12 minutes 
remaining.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time, it is indeed my honor to yield to the 
gentlewoman who hails from the 18th Congressional District of Texas 
(Ms. Jackson Lee). Of the many things that this Congresswoman does, she 
serves on the Committee on the Judiciary, she has been a longtime 
advocate for reforming the criminal justice system. I refer to her as a 
strong voice, a strong advocate, and, truly, a scholar.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to add my appreciation to the 
gentlewoman from Ohio; the gentleman from New York; and the Members who 
have spoken, including the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, 
Mr. Butterfield; the former chair, Ms. Fudge; and the ranking member on 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Mr. Scott.
  There could not be a more important topic than the topic that we are 
speaking about tonight. There are moments in history that I think come 
at times when urgency is the call of the day. It is often said that Dr. 
King emphasized in his tenure the urgency of moving forward on civil 
rights and spoke eloquently about the fact of why we cannot wait. If I 
might, I want to capture his theme of why we cannot wait to end the 
school-to-prison pipeline. End it now and begin the whole comprehensive 
approach of criminal justice reform.
  Let me take Texas as an example and cite some very important 
statistics from the Appleseed Report and as well a comment on the work 
that we are doing in the Committee on the Judiciary. I am so glad at 
this moment in history to be the ranking member of the Subcommittee on 
Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations and working 
with the members of my subcommittee, including Mr. Jeffries, who is a 
member, Ms. Bass, who is a member, and a number of other members as 
well, on this very difficult hurdle that we have.
  Let it be very clear that this hurdle of criminal justice reform is, 
as I heard Mr. Jeffries make mention of, that we have taken hold of 
this issue of opioids and heroin in a way that not one single bill was 
passed last week that had a criminal focus, particularly out of the 
Committee on the Judiciary. Not one bill had mandatory minimums.
  In the debate last week, on Friday, I reiterated over and over again 
no mandatory minimums in this legislation. That should be the perfect 
that we try to achieve going forward on criminal justice reform.
  But let me give the beginnings of that very tragic outcome in 
America, filling up the Nation's prisons, not having criminal justice 
but criminal unfairness. It starts with a path to incarceration, which 
includes in the schools, stops, failing public schools, zero tolerance 
and other school discipline, police in school hallways, disciplinary 
alternative schools, and court involvement in juvenile detention. All 
of these are a path for students to incarceration, and it is without 
understanding what a class C misdemeanor ticket and a trip to court for 
thousands of Texas students and their families means.
  Texas students as young as 6 have been ticketed at school in past 
years, and it is not uncommon for elementary school students to be 
ticketed by school-based law enforcement. School-based arrest of 
students often occurs without prior notice to parents. Police officers 
in some Texas schools are resorting to use of force, measures more 
commonly associated with fighting street crime: pepper spray, tasers, 
and trained canines when a schoolyard fight breaks out or when students 
are misbehaving in a cafeteria or at a school event.
  This should not be the picture for a 6-year-old or a 4-year-old or an 
8-year-old or an 11-year-old or a 13-year-old. This should not be 
equated with school.
  Let me read to you part of the Appleseed Report and a quote by Ryan 
Kellus Turner and Mark Goodner: ``In a little over two decades, a 
paradigm shift has occurred in the Lone Star State. The misdeeds of 
children--acts that in the near recent past resulted in trips to the 
principal's office, corporal punishment, or extra laps under the
supervision of a middle school or high school coach . . .'' Now, of 
course, corporal punishment will be eliminated from that. What is 
worse, ``. . . now result in criminal prosecution, criminal records, 
and untold millions of dollars in punitive fines and hefty court costs 
being imposed against children ages 10 through 16.''
  ``It is conservatively estimated that more than 275,000 non-traffic 
tickets are issued to juveniles in Texas each year . . .'' And based on 
the information from the Texas Office of Court Administration, the 
number of non-traffic tickets issued to students may well grossly 
exceed that number because it was very difficult to get it. ``Texas can 
interrupt this destructive cycle and prevent the loss of more young 
people to the `school-to-prison pipeline' through early interventions 
focused less on punishment and more on creating positive school 
environments that address students' academic and behavioral needs.''
  Let me just say that ``police officers in some Texas schools are 
resorting to `use of force.''' Now, they are supposed to be there as 
SROs. SROs are supposed to have educational training. SROs are

[[Page 6064]]

supposed to be able to have the understanding of how to deal with 
counseling issues and teaching that is evidence based, but here is the 
problem. The problem is that they are focused more on law enforcement.
  I am glad to be part of this Special Order tonight that deals with 
the pipeline that has started working our children toward 
incarceration: overcrowded schools, lack of qualified teachers, 
inadequate resources, and then the zero tolerance for school discipline 
of children and the rate of suspension having increased dramatically in 
recent years from 1.7 million in 1974 to 3.1 million in 2000; and it 
has gone beyond that, and the greatest emphasis has been on children of 
color.
  So here is my call to the United States Congress. We have to begin 
the process of dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. We have to 
understand that children can learn. No child is a throwaway. I offer 
that often in my remarks in my district.
  The detention system is an unfair system. I don't know how many of 
you realize that when a child is sent to juvie, that child can remain 
there until they reach the age of 21. How does that happen? Even if 
their sentence is not as egregious as one might think--a simple 
misbehavior in school. The way that happens is because in juvenile, you 
can assess more time on a child without telling that child's parent 
because that child did not follow orders or, in essence, that child did 
not behave or that child chewed gum when you told them not to.

                              {time}  2015

  We in the Judiciary Committee are working on juvenile justice reform. 
One of them that I am most concerned about and want to move is ending 
solitary confinement for juveniles, recognizing Kalief's Law, involving 
the death of one inside the New York prison at Rikers Island. The 
individual in solitary confinement had not been rendered guilty yet.
  And so we want to eliminate putting juveniles in solitary 
confinement. Because the tragedy, Mr. Speaker, was that that youngster 
was released, ultimately, but after he was released, he, in essence, 
committed suicide.
  So I want to close my remarks by indicating that I want to turn this 
system upside down. I want to make sure that we deal with juvenile 
justice reform. I want to ban the box. We have done that in legislation 
that has not yet passed. I want to make sure that we have alternative 
sentencing.
  At the same time, the Judiciary Committee has moved two bills out of 
committee. I want to see these bills have a vigorous discussion and 
debate on the floor of the House so that we can move to conference.
  Time is going by. Let us not let the perfect be, in essence, the 
downfall of change. H.R. 3713 provides for the reduction of sentencing 
for many who are languishing, by law, in prison today in the Federal 
system.
  As I have spoken to people across the country, they have indicated 
that, even though some States like my State of Texas have made 
enormous, enormous strides--I am proud of that--it has not happened 
around the country.
  The bully pulpit of the Federal Government can be the most effective 
tool to moving toward criminal justice reform and sentencing reduction 
dealing with felony drug offenses. We are moving toward that point.
  A vote on the floor of the House and moving toward conference can 
move our efforts toward legislation that can truly be responsive to 
both concerns and as well positives that are in that bill.
  So as we deal with this prison pipeline, we have to not only talk, we 
have to do. And when we do, we have to make sure that we respond to the 
concerns, but we also have to make sure that we move legislation that 
can ultimately come out of the Senate and go to conference and make a 
difference in the lives of so many.
  I want to thank the gentlewoman from Ohio. I also want to say how 
timely the Congressional Black Caucus is. All that have been crying 
out, from Black Lives Matter to the Mother of the Movement, say that we 
need changes dealing with the whole vastness of criminal justice 
reform: police-community relations, police actions, actions dealing 
with guns, actions dealing with the loss of life of our young people.
  Let's get a framework that can allow us to debate, to fix, to amend, 
and to get a product that will ultimately be signed by the President of 
the United States on behalf of the people of the United States who are 
crying out for relief.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Congresswoman 
Joyce Beatty (D-OH) who are anchoring this Special Order on Ending the 
School-to-Prison Pipeline.
  The over-criminalization of school children in America can no longer 
be swept under the rug, ignored or irrationally justified.
  We are in a state of national crisis and it is time to act.
  Upon taking office, every Member of Congress makes a solemn pledge: 
to protect and defend the American people.
  This is the most important oath we take as elected officials--and, to 
honor this promise, we must do everything in our power to stem the 
School-to-Prison Pipeline in our nation.
  The three most important concerns for Members of Congress today are 
No. 1 Children, No. 2 Children, and No. 3 Children.
  House Republicans are still unwilling to act to stop the 
criminalization of our children in schools and instead work towards 
providing children the opportunity to thrive in American communities.
  This Congress has a moral obligation to do our part to end the 
epidemic of losing our children to the correctional system.
  Now is the time for Republicans to join Democrats in protecting the 
lives of America's youth by taking common sense steps in redirecting 
those who go astray.
  Over the past year, several proposals have been introduced to address 
the need for overarching reform of our nation's criminal justice 
system.
  Americans must consider the educational environment in which we place 
our students, from preschool to high school, subjecting them to 
disciplinary policies that more closely resemble policing than 
teaching.
  Around the country, advocates are collecting data illustrating the 
devastating effects of what they call the ``school-to-prison 
pipeline,'' where student behavior is criminalized, children are 
treated like prisoners and, all too often, actually end up behind bars.
  The school-to-prison pipeline refers to interlocking sets of 
relationships at the institutional/structural and the individual 
levels.
  All of these policies and practices work together to push our 
nation's schoolchildren--youth of color, especially, our most at-risk 
children--out of schools and into unemployment and into the juvenile 
and criminal justice legal systems.
  This pipeline reflects the prioritization of incarceration over 
education.
  For a growing number of students, the path to incarceration includes 
the ``stops'' deterring matriculation such as:
  1) Failing Public Schools;
  2) Zero-Tolerance and Other School Discipline;
  3) Policing School Hallways;
  4) Disciplinary Alternative Schools; and
  5) Court Involvement and Juvenile Detention.
  In a little over two decades, a paradigm shift has occurred in the 
Lone Star State.
  The misdeeds of children--acts that in the near recent past resulted 
in trips to the principal's office, corporal punishment, or extra laps 
under the supervision of a middle school or high school coach, now 
result in criminal prosecution, criminal records, and untold millions 
of dollars in punitive fines and hefty court costs being imposed 
against children in elementary and high schools.
  Disrupting class, using profanity, misbehaving on a school bus, 
student fights, and truancy once meant a trip to the principal's 
office.
  Today, such misbehavior results in a Class C misdemeanor ticket and a 
trip to court for thousands of Texas students and their families each 
year.
  It is conservatively estimated that more than 275,000 non-traffic 
tickets are issued to juveniles in Texas each year.
  While it is impossible to pinpoint how many of these tickets are 
issued by campus police, the vast majority of these tickets are issued 
for offenses most commonly linked to school-related misbehavior--
disruption of class, disorderly conduct, disruption of transportation, 
truancy, and simple assaults related to student fights.
  ``Criminalization'' of student misbehavior extends to even the 
youngest students.

[[Page 6065]]

  In Texas, students as young as six have been ticketed at school in 
the past five years, and it is not uncommon for elementary-school 
students to be ticketed by school-based law enforcement.
  School-based arrest of students often occurs without prior notice to 
parents or a lawyer being present during initial questioning of the 
student.
  The increase in ticketing and arrest of students, in Texas and 
nationwide, has coincided with the growth in school-based policing.
  Campus policing is the largest and fastest growing area of law 
enforcement in Texas, according to its own professional association.
  With counselors stretched to handle class scheduling and test 
administration duties, school administrators and teachers are 
increasingly turning to campus police officers to handle student 
behavior problems.
  Today in Texas, most public schools have a police officer assigned to 
patrol hallways, lunchrooms, school grounds, and after-school events.
  Police officers in some Texas schools are resorting to ``use of 
force'' measures more commonly associated with fighting street crime--
pepper spray, Tasers and trained canines--when a schoolyard fight 
breaks out or when students are misbehaving in a cafeteria or at a 
school event.
  The intent is to keep schools and students safe, but there can be 
unintended consequences to disciplining public school students in a way 
that introduces them to the justice system or exposes them to policing 
techniques more commonly used with adults.
  Texas can interrupt this destructive cycle and prevent the loss of 
more young people to the ``school-to-prison pipeline'' through early 
interventions focused less on punishment and more on creating positive 
school environments that address students' academic and behavioral 
needs.
  We must seek appropriate recommendations for reform.
  For most students, the pipeline begins with inadequate resources in 
public schools.
  Overcrowded classrooms, a lack of qualified teachers, and 
insufficient funding for ``extras'' such as counselors, special 
education services, and even textbooks, lock students into second-rate 
educational environments.
  This failure to meet educational needs increases disengagement and 
dropouts, increasing the risk of later court involvement.
  Even worse, schools may actually encourage dropouts in response to 
pressures from test-based accountability regimes such as the No Child 
Left Behind Act, which create incentives to push out low-performing 
students to boost overall test scores.
  Lacking resources, facing incentives to push out low-performing 
students, and responding to a handful of highly-publicized school 
shootings, schools have embraced zero-tolerance policies that 
automatically impose severe punishment regardless of circumstances.
  Under these policies, students have been expelled for bringing nail 
clippers or scissors to school.
  Rates of suspension have increased dramatically in recent years--from 
1.7 million in 1974 to 3.1 million in 2000--and have been most dramatic 
for children of color.
  Overly harsh disciplinary policies push students down the pipeline 
and into the juvenile justice system.
  Suspended and expelled children are often left unsupervised and 
without constructive activities.
  They also can easily fall behind in their coursework, leading to a 
greater likelihood of disengagement and drop-outs.
  All of these factors increase the likelihood of court involvement.
  As harsh penalties for minor misbehavior become more pervasive, 
schools increasingly ignore or bypass due process protections for 
suspensions and expulsions.
  The lack of due process is particularly acute for students with 
special needs, who are disproportionately represented in the pipeline 
despite the heightened protections afforded to them under law.
  Many under-resourced schools become ``pipeline gateways'' by placing 
increased reliance on police rather than teachers and administrators to 
maintain discipline.
  Growing numbers of districts employ school resource officers to 
patrol school hallways, often with little or no training in working 
with youth.
  As a result, children are far more likely to be subject to school-
based arrests--the majority of which are for non-violent offenses, such 
as disruptive behavior--than they were a generation ago.
  The rise in school-based arrests, the quickest route from the 
classroom to the jailhouse, most directly exemplifies the 
criminalization of school children.
  In some jurisdictions, students who have been suspended or expelled 
have been completely denied their right to an education.
  In others, they are sent to disciplinary alternative schools.
  Growing in number across the country, these shadow systems--sometimes 
run by private, for-profit companies--are immune from educational 
accountability standards (such as minimum classroom hours and 
curriculum requirements) and may fail to provide meaningful educational 
services to the students who need them the most.
  As a result, struggling students return to their regular schools 
unprepared, are permanently locked into inferior educational settings, 
or are funneled through alternative schools into the juvenile justice 
system.
  Youth who become involved in the juvenile justice system are often 
denied procedural protections in the courts.
  Studies demonstrate that as many as 80 percent of court-involved 
children do not have lawyers.
  Students who commit minor offenses may end up in secured detention if 
they violate boilerplate probation conditions prohibiting them from 
activities like missing school or disobeying teachers.
  Students pushed along the pipeline find themselves in juvenile 
detention facilities, many of which provide few, if any, educational 
services.
  Students of color, who are far more likely than their white peers to 
be suspended, expelled, or arrested for the same kind of conduct at 
school, and those with disabilities are particularly likely to travel 
down this pipeline.
  Though many students are propelled down the pipeline from school to 
jail, it is difficult for them to make the journey in reverse.
  Students who enter the juvenile justice system face many barriers to 
their re-entry into traditional schools.
  The vast majority of these students never graduate from high school.
  Numerous studies have also shown that as many as 70-80 percent of 
youth involved in the justice system meet the criteria for a 
disability.
  We must move away from the engrained culture of criminalization as 
the answer to our problems.
  It is no secret that 1 in every 3 black males born today can expect 
to go to prison at some point in their life, compared with 1 in every 6 
Latino males, and 1 in every 17 white males.
  It is a statistic we know well because it is one that has been 
reported since 2001 and has remained unchanged for nearly 15 years.
  It is time we stop repeating and start understanding and unraveling 
the fateful 1 in 3 trend that continues to sweep entire generations of 
young men of color into a lifetime of systematic and barriers.
  The United States currently has the largest number of prisoners in 
the world due to its skyrocketing national imprisonment rate.
  Rather than investing in premier educational responses, the United 
States pays the highest cost globally for incarceration.
  Federal, state, and local leaders are looking for innovative ways to 
improve public health and public safety outcomes, while reducing the 
costs of criminal justice and corrections.
  A number of innovative strategies can save public funds and improve 
public health by keeping low-risk, non-violent, drug-involved offenders 
out of prison or jail, while still holding them accountable and 
ensuring the safety of our communities.
  The Obama Administration is committed to funding and evaluating the 
long-term effects of these innovative criminal justice and corrections 
interventions.
  I too call upon my colleagues to come together and pass legislation 
that will help stop the derailment of children's lives.
  Meanwhile, Federal agencies will continue to seek opportunities to 
expand smart probation and problem-solving court initiatives around the 
country in collaboration with state, local, and tribal agencies.
  In recognition of the considerable potential in cost savings, 
improved outcomes for offenders, and improved public safety, a growing 
number of state and local officials around the country are starting 
their own promising initiatives to break the cycle of drug use, crime, 
and incarceration.
  Nearly every state is struggling with significant shortfalls in 
revenue and making significant cuts to spending in order to close 
budget gaps.
  In making these cuts, many states are focusing attention on 
corrections spending, one of the fastest growing lines in state budgets 
over the past two decades.
  Many states are pursuing a justice reinvestment approach, using data 
to determine what has been driving the growth in the prison population 
and how that growth might be stopped.
  In addition, small investments have been made in programs designed to 
reduce recidivism.

[[Page 6066]]

  New policies have been enacted, slowing the growth of prison 
populations or even downsizing corrections systems, saving states 
hundreds of millions of dollars.
  A portion of those savings are being reinvested in community-based 
services and supports, including substance abuse treatment.
  However, to have meaningful impact on behaviors that contribute to 
crime, recidivism, and substance abuse, states must focus on a handful 
of proven strategies that will maximize the impact of limited 
investments being made in the treatment of substance use disorders and 
community supervision.
  I am a strong supporter of education and I am particularly sensitive 
and protective of measures to keep students safe in school.
  In this same spirit, we must invest in a multi-step, collaborative 
process that involves the combined efforts of law enforcement, 
prosecutors, influential community members, social services, reentry 
services, community corrections, faith-based organizations, and city 
management.
  We have seen too often the horrific abuses of school officers 
dragging, punching, slapping, and more to students.
  First and foremost school-based law enforcement personnel need to be 
removed from the educational setting.
  And if law enforcement are not removed, they should be required to 
receive post-certification training in issues specific to youth, 
including:
  1) de-escalation and mediation techniques;
  2) restraint techniques to be used when force cannot be avoided;
  3) signs and symptoms of trauma, abuse and neglect in children and 
youth, as well as appropriate responses;
  4) signs and symptoms of mental illness in children and youth, and 
appropriate responses; and
  5) manifestations of other disabilities, such as autism, and 
appropriate responses, adolescent development, Juvenile law, and 
Special education and applicable general education law.
  Prohibit school districts from receiving any revenue from Class C 
ticketing for truancy or any other offense.
  Eliminate Disruption of Class and Disruption of Transportation as 
penal code offenses.
  Prohibit ticketing of students under the age of 14.
  Young children are simply not equipped to understand a Class C 
misdemeanor ticket as a meaningful consequence of misbehavior, and the 
consequences of court involvement on academic success are too great to 
allow this practice to continue.
  Ticketing of older students should be a last resort.
  Ticketing, arrest and use of force in schools is preposterously 
reshaping today's school disciplinary policies disproportionately to 
actual need.
  We must acknowledge this epidemic and move to correct the inevitable 
injustice that follows when our children are derailed from their 
futures.
  I thank my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman 
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH) for 
hosting this Special Order on Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
  It is an invaluable and much needed effort.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, let me just end by saying that the urgency 
is now. In the words of Nelson Mandela, ``It always seems impossible 
until it's done.'' Tonight the Congressional Black Caucus says: Let's 
get it done.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, our children 
represent the future of our nation. Our future is more promising when 
our children have a clear path to succeed and have the opportunities to 
become active members of the community. Over time, a culture of 
favoring incarceration over education has become more prominent 
throughout our society--particularly as it relates to minority and low-
income populations. Financial shortfalls at all levels of government 
are also placing downward pressure on states and municipalities to cut 
back on public services and educational or community-based programs in 
favor of harsh criminalization or incarceration.
  The result is the ``school-to-prison pipeline,'' which poses a very 
real threat to our children and our society. This pipeline refers to 
harsh policies and practices that cultivate a culture where young 
individuals are pushed into the juvenile and criminal justice systems 
through harsh punishments in schools. Inadequate resources in public 
schools, economic instability, zero-tolerance policies, and harsh 
punishments for non-violent offenses are all contributing to the 
school-to-prison pipeline. As a result, the United States suffers from 
the largest number of prisoners in the world and the economic and 
social burden of the high costs of incarceration.
  Zero tolerance policies are dangerous to have in our schools. These 
policies impose extremely severe punishments on students, regardless of 
the circumstances, which can result in suspension or even expulsion 
from school. Children of color and students with special needs have 
experienced a dramatic increase in these suspensions and expulsions, 
which greatly increase their probability of entering into the juvenile 
justice system. Schools are also beginning to display an overreliance 
on law enforcement to maintain discipline through the use of school 
resource officers.
  Mr. Speaker, the school-to-prison pipeline is the result of a 
dangerous precedent being set in our schools. Zero tolerance policies 
and the overreliance on law enforcement to keep order in our schools 
not only detracts from the culture of learning we expect in our 
schools, but also condemns countless children to a life of suffering 
for making simple mistakes during their youth. Our society will suffer 
if we continue on this path of forcing children into the criminal 
justice system and it is time that we considered serious reforms to 
keep children in our communities and outside the juvenile justice 
system.

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