Date: 2007-11-05
Speaker: DANNY DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

for organizing this special order on the very important subject addressing the prison warehousing crisis in this country. H.R. 1593. The Second Chance Act. a bill of which I am an original cosponsor. addresses the very serious concerns about the compromised state of warehousing prisoners. Eariier this year the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. Terrorism and Homeland Security. of which I am a member. held hearings to address the state of certain conditions within the United States prison system. In one of those hearings. my colleagues and I considered the merits of The SecondChance Act. and my amendment which I offered in the last Congress was included in the base bill this year. The Second Chance Act is designed to reduce recidivism. increase public safety. and help state and local govemments better address the growing population of exoffenders returning their communities. The bill focuses on four areas: Development and support of programs that provide alternatives to incarceration. expansion of the availability of substance abuse treatment. strengthening families and the expansion of comprehensive reentry services. The Subcommittee has held a series of hearings on issues relating to reentry of prisoners and this legislation dating back to the 108th Congress. Our most recent hearing. on March 20. 2007. focused on reentry best practices and the continuing need for Federal support of reentry program development. Nearly twothirds of released state prisoners are expected to be rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years of their release. Such high recidivism rates translate into thousands of new crimes each year and wasted taxpayer dollars. which can be averted through improved prisoner reentry efforts. The "Second Chance Act of 2007" allocates $360 million towards a variety of reentry programs. One of the main components of the bill is the funding of demonstration projects that would provide exoffenders with a coordinated continuum of housing. education. health. employment. and mentoring services. This broad array of services would provide stability and make the transition for exoffenders "easier. in turn reducing recidivism. I also sponsored H.R. 261. the Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2007 which I introduced eariier this year. H.R. 261 directs the Bureau of Prisons. pursuant to a good time policy. to release a prisoner who has served one half or more of his or her term of imprisonment if that prisoner: (1) Has attained age 45. (2) has never been convicted of a crime of violence. and (3) has not engaged in any violation. involving violent conduct. of institutional disciplinary regulations. H.R. 261. would address the problem of warehousing in the Nations federal correction facilities nonviolent offenders over the age of 45 who have served more than half of their sentences and pose no future danger to society. As I stated during the markup of H.R. 1593. the Second Chance Act of 2007. I strongly believe that in affording older offenders a second chance to turn around their lives and contribute to society. that exoffenders not be too old to take full advantage of a second chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of their families. friends. and communities. I believe setting an eligibility age of 45 rather than 60 will better achieve the goal we all share. I am also concerned about the rehabilitation and treatment of juvenile offenders in my home state of Texas as it appears that the administrators of TYC have neglected their duties. The April 10. 2007 "Dallas Morning News". reported that "two former Texas Youth Commission administrators were indicted on charges that they sexually abused teenage inmates at the state juvenile prison in Pyote". The same article also cited the 2005 investigative report by Texas Rangers Sgt. Burzynski which found that the two indicted TYC administrators. Brookins and Hernandez. had repeatedly molested inmates in the Pyote prison. The report is cited as saying that Mr. Brookins. who during some periods was the top official. had shown sex toys and pomography in his office. while Mr. Hemandez molested inmates in classrooms and closets. I hope that all of my colleagues would join me in supporting the Second Chance Act as well as my H.R. 261. the Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2007. It is time to make a change.