United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2011

Mr. President, in 2008, I was proud to join Senator Durbin in support of the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act, which President Bush signed into law. This last week I have been able to arrange on behalf of the Senate Judiciary Committee for expedited action on the bill's extension, and that the Senate is passing unanimously. I commend Chairman Lamar Smith and the House Judiciary Committee for moving this legislation, and Representative Cohen, the bill's author, for his leadership and attention to the issue. Without this measure, the authority we provided to help our Guard and Reserve families would expire. By taking this action we preserve the assistance this authority provides.

It is a privilege to work on behalf of the men and women who serve in the Vermont National Guard. They have and continue to make all Vermonters proud. I cannot say enough about the men and women who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. They and their families deserve the full support of Congress for the sacrifices they make. Especially now, where multiple conflicts have demanded even more of them, when so many have been called into active service, we need to keep them foremost in our thoughts.

Extending the protections of the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act for another 4 years is the right thing to do. The bill the Senate passes today will exempt qualifying members of the Guard and Reserve from the harsh means test imposed in our bankruptcy laws a few years ago. As a result of Congress's enactment of a 2005 bankruptcy measure, passed at the behest of large banks and credit card companies, Americans who must make the difficult decision to seek the protection of the bankruptcy court now face onerous requirements to demonstrate that they are experiencing sufficient hardship to enter chapter 7 bankruptcy. Under the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act, qualifying members of the Guard and Reserve will be protected against the burden of this requirement for another 4 years.

In my view, no American, particularly in times of such economic hardship, should have this burdensome requirement of the so-called means test imposed upon them. The bankruptcy system was established to protect Americans and give them a fresh start. The 2005 enactment turned the law on its head. I opposed this provision in the Senate in 2005, and continue to have serious misgivings about a policy that presumes that Americans facing extreme financial hardships are abusing the bankruptcy process.

Passage of the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act is a step forward toward correcting our current policy.

I also note that passage of this legislation is another example of the good cooperation that exists between the Senate and House Judiciary Committees operating across the aisle and across the Capitol. Last night, the Senate passed H.R. 394, the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act, a bill sponsored by Chairman Smith to bring clarity to the operation of Federal jurisdictional and venue statutes, thereby helping to reduce wasteful litigation over these issues. This bipartisan bill was cosponsored in the House by Representatives by Howard Coble, ranking member John Conyers, Jr., and Hank Johnson of Georgia. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, and was cosponsored by Senator Sessions, the ranking member on the subcommittee.

These two bills are just the most recent examples of legislation I have worked with Chairman Smith to enact. Of course, we worked together to enact the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to revitalize our patent laws. We worked together on authorizing the extension of the term of FBI Director Mueller, which required a statutory exception, and on reauthorizing the USA PATRIOT Act.

Other examples include H.R. 368, Representative Hank Johnson's bill to clarify removal provisions for matters filed in State courts against Federal agencies and officers; H.R. 398, Representative Lofgren's bill to toll certain time periods for those in active service to our country; S.1637, Senator Klobuchar's bill to clarify how time is calculated under the Federal Rules; and H.R. 2944, Chairman Smith's bill to extend the authority of the U.S. Parole Commission.

In addition to these nine measures, we are continuing to work on a number of additional bills, including: S. 1639, Senator Tester's bill to amend the American Legion charter; and S. 1541, Senator Bennet's bill to revise the Blue Star Mothers' charter.

I look forward to our continued collaborative relationship. Our successful efforts across the aisle and across the Capitol show that the partisan gridlock

that has become all too prevalent these days does not govern everywhere.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2944) to provide for the continued performance of the functions of the United States Parole Commission, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 2944 currently under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, on October 31, the authorization for the United States Parole Commission will expire. H.R. 2944, the United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2011, extends the Commission's authorization for an additional 3 years.

I thank Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Crime Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, and Ranking Member Bobby Scott, who is here on the floor today, for joining me in sponsoring this legislation.

The Parole Commission is an independent agency within the Department of Justice that supervises Federal offenders who are eligible for parole.

In 1984, Congress abolished Federal parole and replaced it with a determinate sentencing system. Federal offenders who were sentenced prior to November 1, 1987, were grandfathered under the parole system. The Parole Commission has been kept in place since then on a temporary basis to continue supervision of these Federal offenders.

In an effort to lower local crime rates, the District of Columbia followed the Federal example and also abolished parole. Under the new D.C. system, the D.C. Superior Court imposes a term of incarceration and supervised release.

Congress subsequently expanded the jurisdiction of the Parole Commission to include both parole and supervised release offenders from the District of Columbia. The group of offenders the Parole Commission was originally intended to supervise, Federal offenders who are eligible for parole, is a finite number of offenders that is growing smaller every year.

Today, however, the majority of the Commission's workload concerns the District of Columbia offenders. Like the population of Federal offenders eligible for parole, the parole-eligible D.C. offender population is also declining over time, although at a slower rate than Federal offenders. However, because all incoming offenders are now sentenced under the new law, the D.C. supervised release offender population is increasing.

At some point in the future, no Federal offenders will remain under the Commission's jurisdiction. At that time, Congress should assess the need to continue a Federal Parole Commission within the Justice Department.

In addition to extending the Commission authorization for 3 years, H.R. 2944 requires the Commission to submit a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committee within 180 days of enactment. The commission last provided such a report in 2006.

H.R. 2944 requests the Commission to provide a variety of information relating to each category of offenders under the Commission's jurisdiction for fiscal years 2006 through 2011. The report asks the Commission to provide the projected number of Federal offenders who will be under the Commission's jurisdiction as of October 31, 2014, the date this authorization is set to expire. The report also requests an estimate of the date on which no Federal offenders will remain under the Commission's jurisdiction.

This report will inform Congress about where the Commission's resources are being directed, and enable us to decide whether any changes to the Commission are necessary to reflect its decreasing Federal parole responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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.

I rise in support of H.R. 2944, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2944, which will extend the United States Parole Commission's authority for an additional 3 years. The current authority is set to expire October 31, 2011.

Although Federal parole was abolished with the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act effective November 1, 1987, those sentenced for an offense committed prior to the effect of the date of the abolition, and those sentences that have not yet been completed, remain eligible for parole.

Moreover, the Parole Commission has jurisdiction over other offenders, including the Uniform Code of Military Justice offenders and those under transfer treaties between the United States and other countries. Currently there are over 1,000 parole-eligible prisoners under the Commission authority.

The Sentencing Reform Act requires that release dates be set for all remaining offenders eligible for parole prior to the expiration of the Parole Commission. The Department of Justice is concerned that if the Commission's current authority is allowed to expire, Federal offenders who were sentenced for offenses committed prior to November 1, 1987, will begin to file motions for release under the Sentencing Reform Act, since the act requires such offenders to be given release dates 3 to 6 months prior to the expiration of the commission. We are now beyond that period at this point and no release dates have been set.

For this reason, it is important that we extend the U.S. Parole Commission's authority as soon as possible. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and thank the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Texas, for his leadership.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I am pleased that Members of the House from both parties acted quickly to reauthorize the U.S. Parole Commission. I was glad to help move this important measure in the Senate, and am disappointed that we were forced to accept this unnecessary amendment to shorten the bipartisan House bill. Today's amendment wastes valuable time and resources by forcing Congress to reauthorize the Commission again in another 2 years, instead of working toward a more permanent solution.

Although Federal parole was abolished decades ago, the U.S. Parole Commission still has jurisdiction over thousands of offenders in the District of Columbia, as well as some in other parts of the country. Without reauthorization, we faced the risk that offenders would be released early without the proper public safety assessment. I believe that passing this bill promotes public safety and fairness.

I would like to commend Chairman Lamar Smith and Ranking Member John Conyers of the House Judiciary

Committee and Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin for joining together to originate this bill and move it through the House Judiciary Committee and the House.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, September 20, 2011, I missed rollcall votes numbered 712, 713, and 714. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on H.R. 2944, the United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2011, ``aye'' on H.R. 2189, the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2011 and ``aye'' on H.R. 2646, to authorize certain Department of Veterans Affairs major medical facility projects and leases, to extend certain expiring provisions of law, and to modify certain authorities of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.