United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2008

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself so much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3294, the United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2008.

This bipartisan legislation will extend the authorization of the United States Parole Commission for an additional 3 years.

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Ranking Member Lamar Smith introduced the House version of this bill earlier this month. Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott and Ranking Member Louie Gohmert also joined as cosponsors.

The Parole Commission is an independent agency within the Department of Justice that has the responsibility of supervising Federal offenders that are eligible for parole. The Parole Commission also has jurisdiction over offenders from the District of Columbia who are parole-eligible and those convicted under current DC law, under which they cannot be paroled.

Today, the great majority of the Commission's workload concerns the District of Columbia offenders. That's because the group of offenders that the Commission was originally intended to supervise--Federal offenders that are eligible for parole--are a small category of prisoners getting smaller every day. This decrease in the number of parole-eligible Federal offenders is the result of a decision by Congress to end indeterminate sentencing, and therefore Federal parole, with the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act, or SRA, of 1984.

As a result of the SRA, the arbitrary and disparate sentences imposed by judges under the old system were replaced with determinate sentences mandated by strong guidelines created by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. This new Federal sentencing arrangement has been an unquestioned success. Determinate sentencing makes incarceration terms more meaningful and ensures that offenders actually serve most of their sentences. Determinate sentencing also helped to restore the credibility of courts by making sentencing more uniform.

Over the last 25 years the national crime rate has dropped. This decrease in crime can be attributed to determinate sentencing, which keeps the violent criminals in prison and off the streets, and it also provides a deterrent.

In an effort to lower local crime rates, the District of Columbia followed the Federal example and abolished parole. Under the new DC system, the DC Superior Court imposes a term of incarceration and supervised release, and the Parole Commission enforces the conditions of the supervised release.

Like the population of Federal offenders eligible for parole, the parole-eligible DC offender population is declining over time, although at a slower rate than Federal offenders.

However, because all incoming offenders are now sentenced under the new law, the DC supervised release offender population is increasing over time.

The Department of Justice has indicated that it will evaluate the future of the commission during the 3-year reauthorization period. The department will review whether any changes to the commission are necessary to reflect its decreasing Federal parole responsibilities and its evolving supervised release responsibilities for the District of Columbia. These changes may include transferring all or some of the commission's functions to an entity or entities inside or outside the Department of Justice.

We hope the department will share the results of this review with Congress as it will help the legislature make an informed decision about the future status of the U.S. Parole Commission.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 3294) to provide for the continued performance of the functions of the United States Parole Commission.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 3294, the United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2008, would authorize the United States Parole Commission for another 3 years.

Under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, criminal defendants sentenced for Federal offenses committed on or after November 1, 1987 serve determinate terms and are not eligible for patrol.

Since the elimination of Federal parole in 1987, the Parole Commission has been reauthorized on four prior occasions. Current reauthorization is set to expire October 31, 2008.

The Commission has jurisdiction over Federal offenders sentenced before November 1, 1987, as well as DC offenders sentenced before August 4, 2000. The Commission also has jurisdiction over an increasing number of DC offenders on supervised release.

Should the Commission not be reauthorized, the Department of Justice is concerned that Federal inmates who were sentenced prior to 1987 will begin to file motions for release under the Sentencing Reform Act. This act requires inmates sentenced before 1987 to be given release dates 3 to 6 months prior to the Commission's expiration. This is why it's imperative that Congress act immediately to reauthorize the Parole Commission.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam President, I am pleased the Senate will unanimously pass the United States Parole Commission Act of 2008, a bill Senator Specter and I introduced that will extend the life of the U.S. Parole Commission by 3 years. Without quick action by Congress, the Commission will expire on

October 31, 2008. Senate passage is an important first step to ensure this does not happen.

The U.S. Parole Commission is responsible for granting or denying parole for incarcerated Federal and DC prisoners who were sentenced before the Federal and DC governments abolished parole. The Commission was created and empowered to consider the requests of these ``old law'' Federal and DC inmates, but it also has jurisdiction over DC offenders who are on supervised release from prison.

Originally slated to expire in 1992, Congress has extended the life of the Commission four times. Another extension is necessary to ensure the orderly administration of the law, and to avoid the risk of premature release of offenders. If the authorization lapses, the law requires the Commission to set release dates for all parole-eligible Federal prisoners. In addition, there is no mechanism to handle DC parolees who are on supervised release from prison.

A limited extension will avoid these potential problems, and will give the Justice Department time to evaluate whether any changes to the Commission are necessary.

I urge the House to work quickly to pass this bill and send it to the President so that it can be effective before the Commission's authorization expires in October.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3294, introduced earlier today by Senators Leahy and Specter.

I ask unanimous consent the bill be read three times and passed; the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; and any statements be printed in the Record.