Bob Goodlatte

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 475, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 476, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 477, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 478, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 479, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 480, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 481, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 482.

Personal Explanation

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the bill (S. 756) to reauthorize and amend the Marine Debris Act to promote international action to reduce marine debris, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 756, currently under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, today, in what may very well be my last floor statement as a Member of this esteemed body, I rise in strong support of the First Step Act. The bipartisan and bicameral bill before us is a meaningful and historic criminal justice reform measure. This is also an issue that I have dedicated much of my work to as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Nearly 4 years ago, I and former Ranking Member Conyers created the Criminal Justice Reform Initiative at the Judiciary Committee to address the significant congressional interest in criminal justice reform from Members who do and do not serve on the Judiciary Committee.

The purpose of the initiative was to develop bipartisan legislation to address several facets of the Federal criminal justice system, including overcriminalization, prison and reentry reform, sentencing reform, protecting citizens through improved criminal procedures and policing strategies, and civil asset forfeiture reform.

In addressing these issues, the committee relied on the work of the Over-

Criminalization Task Force, which held nine hearings on a variety of criminal justice topics during the 113th Congress, as well as the information provided to the committee by interested Members during the committee's listening session in June of 2015.

The work of that initiative has already yielded tremendous results. For instance, the Rapid DNA Act is helping local police departments by allowing them to submit DNA records that are generated by Rapid DNA systems outside an accredited laboratory to be uploaded to NDIS. This is important, as it can confirm or exonerate a suspect in a matter of hours instead of days or even weeks. That bill was signed into law by President Trump last year.

The Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 promotes public safety and community health by facilitating collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile justice, mental health treatment, and substance abuse systems to ensure those with mental illness receive the treatment and help they need. That bill became law as part of the 21st Century Cures Act.

While those two laws are incredible steps forward, the measure we have before us today is the crown jewel of criminal justice reform. The First Step Act before us today couples front end and back end reform to our criminal justice system.

Seven months ago, this body overwhelmingly passed the first iteration of the First Step Act. While it only contained back-end prison reforms, it was a very real and very important ``first step.'' During consideration of that bill, many of my colleagues voted against the measure because it did not contain any front-end sentencing reforms.

At the time, I noted that I support front-end reforms and, since then, worked with our colleagues in the Senate to ensure that they are included in the bill before us today.

On the front end, this bill makes reasonable changes to Federal law to more appropriately tailor sentences for drug offenders. It does not eliminate mandatory minimums but reduces them for certain offenders. It takes a scalpel, not a sledge hammer, to the Federal sentencing scheme.

Among other things, the bill reduces some of the harsher sentences for Federal drug offenders. It reduces the penalty for a third Federal drug offense from life imprisonment to not less than 25 years. This is a sensible change. We want to punish repeat offenders, but we do not want our Federal prisons to become nursing homes.

Importantly, this bipartisan legislation backstops these sentencing reductions by ensuring violent offenders are eligible for sentencing enhancements under the drug statutes. Congress enacted these minimum sentences 30 years ago to protect our communities from violent offenders. The bill ensures they carry out that mission.

On the back end, the First Step Act places a new focus on rehabilitation. The bill establishes a risk and needs assessment as the basis of an effective recidivism reduction program and, more importantly, an efficient and effective Federal prison sentence.

The First Step Act will incentivize prisoners to participate in evidence-based recidivism reduction programs, productive activities, and jobs that will actually reduce the risk of recidivism.

Finally, this comprehensive package contains the reauthorization of the Second Chance Act, a provision sponsored by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner). This measure authorizes funding for both public and private entities, including nonprofit organizations, to evaluate and improve academic and vocational education for offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities.

Reentry is a vital component of criminal justice reform. Nearly every Federal prisoner will someday be released. We all have an interest in ensuring ex-inmates become productive members of society.

I would be remiss if I did not point out the overwhelming bipartisan support from outside interest groups that the First Step Act has received. Numerous organizations on both the left and the right have enthusiastically endorsed this bill.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chief House champions of the First Step Act, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), who, in January, will take the position of ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. He, along with the new chairman, Mr. Nadler, I hope, will continue the request for more criminal justice reform. I also want to acknowledge the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries). They worked tirelessly to advance this legislation, and both Mr. Collins and Mr. Jeffries should be applauded for their bipartisan approach to this issue.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), and I ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control the time.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 499, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 450, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 451.