REDEEM Act

Bill: 113-hr-5158
Sponsor: Rep. Fattah, Chaka [D-PA-2]
Introduced: 2014-07-18 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Employee hiring
Food assistance and relief
Government studies and investigations
Judicial procedure and administration
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Licensing and registrations
Poverty and welfare assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-18
text: 
Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment Act of 2014 or the REDEEM Act - Amends the federal criminal code to provide a process for the sealing or expungement of records relating to nonviolent or juvenile offenses.
 
Requires a court considering a petition to seal a nonviolent offense to balance factors including the harm of the protected information to the ability of the petitioner to secure and maintain employment.
 
Sets forth limitations on involuntary room confinements at juvenile detention facilities.
 
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) to remove offenses relating to possession or use of a controlled substance from the categories of drug offenses that result in the convicted individual being ineligible for assistance under: (1) a state program funded with temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) grants under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act; or (2) the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program) or any state program carried out under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
 
Prohibits the denial of such assistance and benefits if the convicted individual: (1) committed an offense related to a substance abuse disorder, (2) participates in a substance abuse treatment program, and (3) complies with all court-imposed obligations. Includes employment services among the categories of federal benefits that are not to be denied under PRWORA. 
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow the Attorney General, in awarding public safety and community policing grants, to give preferential consideration to an applicant in a state with laws similar to this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-09-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2014-08-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, and Nutrition.
action_date: 2014-07-18
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-07-18
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-07-18
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-07-18
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-07-18
text: Introduced in House