[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20373-20374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07314]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 65 / Wednesday, April 5, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 20373]]


                Proclamation 10546 of March 31, 2023

                
Second Chance Month, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America has always been a land of second chances, 
                founded on fresh starts, new possibilities, and the 
                belief that every person deserves to be treated with 
                dignity and respect. During Second Chance Month, we 
                recommit to helping people forge the new beginnings 
                they have earned and building a safer and more just 
                society.

                I believe in redemption--but for hundreds of thousands 
                of Americans released from State and Federal prisons 
                each year, or the nearly 80 million who have an arrest 
                or conviction record, it is not always easy to come by. 
                A criminal record can prevent them from landing a 
                steady job, a safe place to live, quality health care, 
                or the chance to go to back school. It can keep them 
                from ever getting a loan to buy a home, start a 
                business, or build a future. It can bar them from 
                voting. As a result, three-quarters of formerly 
                incarcerated people remain unemployed a year after 
                their release--and joblessness is a top predictor of 
                recidivism. We are not giving people a real second 
                chance.

                Our justice system should instead be based on the 
                simple premise that once someone completes their 
                sentence, they should have the chance to earn a living, 
                build a life, and participate in our democracy as 
                fellow citizens. Instead of giving people $25 and a bus 
                ticket when they are released, we have to help them 
                address their underlying needs as they re-enter 
                society. It will keep families whole, build stronger 
                and safer communities, grow our economy, and reduce 
                recidivism long-term.

                To do that, we need education, job, and substance use 
                programs, during and after incarceration. My 
                Administration is, for example, investing nearly $1 
                billion in job training, recovery, and reentry 
                services. We are implementing changes to the Pell Grant 
                program so people can earn a college degree while still 
                in prison, jumpstarting new lives. Once they are 
                released, we are helping them to find jobs rebuilding 
                America through our historic infrastructure law; and we 
                have expanded access to small business loans, so no 
                one's past keeps them from building a better future.

                There is much more to do. Last summer, I released my 
                Safer America Plan, which calls on the Congress to 
                invest $15 billion more in mental health and substance 
                use services, job training, affordable housing, and 
                other resources to help people rebuild their lives. It 
                also urges the Congress to end restrictions on people 
                with criminal records receiving disability insurance, 
                Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food 
                assistance, or other Federal benefits that would help 
                them get back on their feet.

                At the same time, we have to invest in preventing crime 
                and breaking the cycle of recidivism. To that end, my 
                Administration has put $3 billion in American Rescue 
                Plan funds toward mental health and substance use 
                programs. We are allocating $400 million this year to 
                keep young people from becoming involved in the 
                juvenile justice system. And my Safer America Plan 
                would increase support for State and local crime 
                prevention, including community violence intervention, 
                which has been shown to reduce gun violence by up to 60 
                percent. We have also taken historic steps to end our 
                Nation's failed approach to marijuana. Sending people 
                to prison for

[[Page 20374]]

                possession has upended too many lives for conduct that 
                many States no longer prohibit. It has seen Black and 
                Brown Americans disproportionately arrested, 
                prosecuted, and convicted; and imposed unfair barriers 
                to housing, employment, and education. Last fall, I 
                announced a full pardon for Federal and DC simple 
                possession offenses, while calling on other elected 
                officials to do the same at the State and local levels 
                where most marijuana prosecutions take place.

                Meanwhile, we are working to reverse generations of 
                disinvestment, rebuilding America's economy from the 
                bottom up and middle out to leave no one behind. We 
                have created a record 12 million jobs in the last 2 
                years and now have the near lowest unemployment rate in 
                a half-century, putting good-paying work within 
                everyone's reach, including people with past arrests or 
                convictions. Our historic investments in 
                infrastructure, manufacturing, and clean energy will 
                help to close the racial wealth gap, investing in 
                people and communities that have been overlooked for 
                too long. That is what second chances look like, and 
                every American should have an equal shot at one.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2023 as 
                Second Chance Month. I call upon all government 
                officials, educators, volunteers, and all the people of 
                the United States to observe the month with appropriate 
                programs, ceremonies, and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-07314
Filed 4-4-23; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P