Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to inform the House that Ralph William Hall, a distinguished military officer and World War II veteran, passed away on December 18, 2018, in Washington, D.C. He was 99 years old.

Born January 25, 1919 in Metcalf, Georgia, the oldest of five siblings born to Adam and Maggie Hall.

Ralph William Hall attended Johnson C. Smith University from which he graduated in 1941. While a student there, Ralph William Hall pledged in Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and was inducted into Rho Chapter, an active association he maintained for the ensuing 80 years, until entering Omega Chapter.

Mr. Speaker, Ralph William Hall was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served heroically in World War II. He was subsequently promoted to First Lieutenant and upon his honorable discharge from active duty, Ralph William Hall continued his service to our nation by working as a civil servant for the U.S. Government.

Ralph William Hall relocated to Washington D.C. where he was an active member of the St. Timothy Episcopal Church, and Southeast Washington, D.C.

Ralph William Hall leaves to cherish his memory two children, Douglas and Angela Hall; two grandchildren, Shaune Cannon and Drew Cannon; and a host of relatives, friends, and loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to observe a moment of silence in memory of Ralph William Hall, a great American and one of the last members of the World War II generation, which is regarded by many historians as the ``Greatest Generation.''

Mr. Speaker, let me indicate to the American people happy holidays and thank the gentleman from Georgia for his bipartisan reach to help us understand the impact of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the incoming chair of the Democratic Caucus and the original cosponsor of this legislation. I thank him for his embrace of all of us as we worked our way through this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me take the tone of Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Collins, and Mr. Jeffries in saying that this is a momentous occasion. What I am grateful for, Mr. Speaker, is the faith community; the advocates who have been working with families for decades; mothers who welcome home sons and daughters; prisoners or ex-prisoners like those I met just a week ago at the Houston Reentry Program who indicated that they could not find a job; members of the Congressional Black Caucus; our present chair, Mr. Richmond; and our chair-elect, Ms. Bass.

People from all walks of life have recognized that this is not going to increase crime, but quite the opposite. Through our faith, we understand that humanity and the recognition of someone's dignity helps them to be a contributing member of society.

So I rise to support this bill that includes the First Step and the sentencing reform reduction act. I rise because so many people have worked over the years to ensure that this bill will work.

It is important to note what we are overcoming. The ACLU said: ``Over the past 4 to 5 decades, U.S. criminal justice policies have driven an increase in incarceration rates that is unprecedented in this country and unmatched elsewhere in the world. Our country has over 20 percent of the world's incarcerated individuals, despite having less than 5 percent of the world's population.''

In 2015, it was estimated that 6.7 million persons were involved in the adult correctional systems, and almost 2.2 million were in prisons or jail, 180,000 in the Federal system, all costing us money and the value of those human beings that can serve their country.

So I am grateful for the work that we came together on, that we overcame some of the challenges. I want to mention Mr. John Lewis, who is the conscience of this Congress, who worked with us to ensure that sentencing reform would be part of the ultimate bill.

We acknowledge other members of the other body, Senator Durbin, Senator Grassley, Senator Harris, and, of course, Senator Booker, among others. I thank Mr. Goodlatte in his last bill for his commitment to moving criminal justice reform, even in the last Congress, and the new ranking member and soon to be chair, Mr. Nadler, who put all of his energies in ensuring that we could effectively move this bill.

We worked with Senator Durbin, and we worked with Senator Grassley, who wanted to make sure that this was a wonderful partnership, the same kind of partnership that my good friend, Mr. Jeffries, spoke of, conservative viewpoints, religious viewpoints, and those advocacy groups who had fought for years against mandatory minimums. We have come a long way.

Justice has to be equal, and it has to be fair. It has to be righteous and reasonable, and, in that, it has to have any number of those participating. Eric Holder, who worked on this issue, recognized that we had to have a partnership between these two fine elements: reduction, and, as well, the First Step Act, sentencing reduction. I know that this bill--and hope it will be signed, because the President indicated he wants the finest prison reform bill that we can have anywhere.

Let me proclaim on the floor that we have made that giant step, but we have added the opportunity for almost 5,000 people to see their families, under supervision, by sentencing reduction--over 50,000 over a 10-year period--not individuals who haven't had the opportunity for training, for job training, for counseling, for opioid treatment, all matched together with the sentencing and prison reform bill.

So we have elements like the safety valve and retroactive application of fair sentencing. To all of my friends in the advocacy community, you have been victorious, and I thank you. Reforms enhance mandatory minimum sentences for prior drug offenses, recognizing that the crack cocaine disparity was destructive in the work that we have tried to do--stacking.

Let me also say that there was concern that there be no oversight over this bill. I am glad that they took my amendment before an Independent Review Committee so that the discretion of wardens and the DOJ are not random, but they, in fact, will have an independent outside committee to look at this matter.

I am grateful that my friend, Mr. Danny Davis, who has worked so hard, got his Second Chance Reauthorization in the bill, which is extremely important. I am so grateful, and you will hear from Congresswoman Bass for her ongoing passionate concern about the treatment of pregnant women, and I look forward to working with her in the future.

We have groups like the ACLU, The Brennan Group, the NAACP, and others who have worked hard on this type of legislation, and we are grateful for their continued insight and keeping us honest as we move forward.

I want to acknowledge, if I could, the idea, again, that there will be those who will be preying upon us. In this season of caring and giving, I hope the Nation will be praying, praying for a better Nation, praying for the opportunity for people who went astray, and to recognize that what we have put in this bill are limits to ensure that these persons released will have the right kind of training and counseling, because we have increased the funding, we have worked with the groups that need to be worked with, and we have protected pregnant prisoners.

And, finally, Mr. Speaker, something that I hope will grow in our compassion, that we have reformed an aspect of the criminal justice system as relates to juveniles, and, that is, that there is no more solitary confinement. I appreciate the sponsors accepting that from both myself and Senator Booker. It is a bill of compassion. It is not a bill of crime. It is a bill that America can be proud of.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass), the incoming chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me quickly move to my closing by really reemphasizing happy holidays to the American people and to thank our colleagues for recognizing the humanity of all individuals.

Just in closing, imagine you are a mother, child, or loved one of an incarcerated person that was robbed by a system that played Russian roulette with his or her life, because that system decided they were criminals rather than victims of a public health crisis or of a bad start in life or a lack of resources as a child. This bill recognizes that people start life in many different ways, but they can be saved. They can be relevant. They can be with their families.

So I am grateful for the amendments added, the protection of juveniles that will not be in solitary confinement, and I am grateful for the Independent Review Committee that indicates that there will be an oversight on how wardens issue the earned good time and how they are treating those who are incarcerated, an Independent Review Committee in the Institute for Justice.

Finally, I would offer to say, we have money. And that money is at least a quarter of a billion dollars in terms of the amount of money that we will have over a period of time--some $250 million is the approximate amount, at least, in that figure that we have that will be invested in this particular bill.

Finally, a bill that has been around for a very long time, the Second Chance Act, has a new lease on life, and that will be part of the bill, and we will continue to work with our colleagues going forward to emphasize the redemption of those who are trying to do right.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, this is H.R. 5075, the Ashanti Alert Act of 2018. I rise to support the Senate amendment to H.R. 5075, the Ashanti Alert Act of 2018.

This bill seeks to establish a national communications network to help locate missing adults by providing assistance to State, Tribal, and local search efforts. This bill would initiate, facilitate, and promote Ashanti Alert plans in coordination with States, Indian Tribes, units of local government, law enforcement agencies, and other concerned entities with expertise in providing services to adults.

I was pleased when we initially passed this bill last September, and I am even more pleased with the Senate amendment, and so I rise to support this legislation and indicate that as of December 31, 2017, the National Crime Information Center database included records of 55,968 missing adults. In fact, many adults go missing each year that are not found until it is too late.

In particular, the young woman who the bill is named after, Ashanti Billie, was too old for the assistance of an AMBER Alert on her behalf and too young for a Silver Alert. Had these resources been available when Ashanti Billie was abducted, she may be here today.

Mr. Speaker, I enthusiastically support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I join with the manager of the bill to support H.R. 7093, the Clean Up the Code Act, as a measure that takes a small step toward addressing the problem of over-criminalization as a result of the hard work of the Over-Criminalization Task Force, of which we look forward to continuing in the next Congress.

This bill repeals several criminal penalties for violations that do not involve serious wrongdoing, or at least not serious enough to warrant criminal prosecution and the consequences of a criminal record. For example, this bill repeals laws that make the unauthorized for- profit use of the Smoky the Bear and Woodsy Owl characters punishable by fine and/or imprisonment for up to 6 months.

The conduct that these laws are designed to deter or punish certainly do not merit criminal sanctions.

We are grateful for the Clean Up the Code Act, and I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 7093.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and thank for their efforts Representative Steve Chabot and Representative Hank Johnson for their work on this bill.

I ask my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise as well in support of S. 2896, the Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act of 2018, also known as the JACK Act.

The JACK Act would require lobbyists to publicly disclose any State or Federal convictions for certain crimes of character, such as bribery, extortion, embezzlement, illegal kickbacks, tax evasion, fraud, conflicts of interest, making false statements, perjury, or money laundering.

As many of you have known, this bill impacts lobbyists and impacts individuals, such as Mr. Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to a number of counts in 2006.

This is an important bill that was sponsored by Mr. Cohen, and I ask my colleagues to support this legislation, again, S. 2896, the Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act of 2018, the JACK Act.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2961, the Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization. This bill updates and reauthorizes this important law so that we can better prevent and address child abuse in our communities.

This is very important legislation, just for the fact of the number of children that are abused. In my own community in Texas and in the city of Houston, we have had some atrocious cases; one just reported in our newspaper of a 5-year-old under a stairwell, locked, lying flat on his back, weighing 70 pounds, with no food and water, abused by two parents, the step-child of one of the parents. What a horrific and horrible life.

The Administration for Children and Families reported that over 4.1 million referrals for 7.4 million children were made to Child Protective Services in the United States in 2016.

Our Federal Government must provide resources to ensure that these cases are carefully, compassionately, and comprehensively addressed at the local level.

This bill recognizes the sensitivity of these issues and helps integrate social services, mental and physical healthcare, and law enforcement.

With the resources and legislative updates in this bill, child advocacy centers can extend their outreach to underserved communities and expand programs, such as offering longer term counseling.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representatives Poe and Costa here in the House and Senators Blunt and Coons in the Senate for leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record several letters dealing with S. 756: a letter from the ACLU; a letter from the Judicial Conference of the United States; and a letter from the Center for American Progress.

The Leadership Conference, ACLU,

Washington, DC, December 19, 2018.

Re THE ACLU AND THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE URGE YOU TO SUPPORT

5.756, THE FIRST STEP Act.

Hon. Paul D. Ryan,

Speaker, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Nancy Pelosi,

Minority Leader, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Pelosi: On behalf of

the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and The Leadership

Conference on Civil and Human Rights, we write to urge you to

vote YES on S. 756, the FIRST STEP Act. This legislation is a

next step towards desperately needed federal criminal justice

reform, but for all its benefits, much more needs to be done.

The inclusion of concrete sentencing reforms in the new and

improved Senate version of the FIRST STEP Act is a modest

improvement, but many people will be left in prison to serve

long draconian sentences because some provisions of the

legislation are not retroactive. The revised FIRST STEP Act,

however, is not without problems. The bill continues to

exclude individuals from benefiting from some provisions

based solely on their

prior offenses, namely citizenship and immigration status, as

well as certain prior drug convictions and their ``risk

score'' as determined by a discriminatory risk assessment

system. While these concerns remain a priority for our

organizations and we will advocate for improvements in the

future, ultimately the improvements to the federal sentencing

scheme will have a net positive impact on the lives of some

of the people harmed by our broken justice system and we urge

you to vote YES on S. 756. The ACLU and The Leadership

Conference will include your votes on our updated voting

scorecards for the 115th Congress.

Over the past four to five decades, U.S. criminal justice

policies have driven an increase in incarceration rates that

is unprecedented in this country and unmatched elsewhere in

the world. Our country has over 20 percent of the world's

incarcerated individuals, despite having less than five

percent of the world's population. In 2015, the U.S. Justice

Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that 6.7

million persons were involved in the adult correctional

systems in this country and almost 2.2 millions were in

prisons or jail. More than 180,000 of these people are in

federal prison, almost half of whom are there for drug

offenses.

The most recent data indicate that the United States spends

almost $81 billion per year on corrections systems--prisons,

jails, parole, and probation--and this figure does not

include the costs of policing and court systems. The cost of

the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) accounts for nearly a

third of the Department of Justice's discretionary budget.

Federal incarceration has become one of our nation's biggest

expenditures, swallowing the budget of federal law

enforcement. It costs more than $36,000 a year to house just

one federal inmate, almost four times the average yearly cost

of tuition at a public university.

While the dollar amounts are astounding, the toll that our

U.S. criminal justice policies have taken on black and brown

communities across the nation goes far beyond the enormous

amount of money that is spent. This country's extraordinary

incarceration rates impose much greater costs than simply the

fiscal expenditures necessary to incarcerate over 20 percent

of the world's prisoners. The true costs of this country's

addiction to incarceration must be measured in human lives

and particularly the generations of young black and Latino

men who serve long prison sentences and are lost to their

families and communities. The Senate version of the FIRST

STEP Act makes some modest improvements to the current

federal system.

I. Sentencing Reform Changes to House-passed FIRST STEP

Act--Sentencing reform is the key to slowing down the flow of

people going into our prisons. This makes sentencing reform

pivotal to addressing mass incarceration, prison

overcrowding, and the exorbitant costs of incarceration. As a

result of our coalition's advocacy, the new FIRST STEP Act

added some important sentencing reform provisions from SRCA,

which will aid us in tackling these issues on the federal

level. These important changes in federal law will result in

fewer people being subjected to harsh mandatory minimums.

Expands the Existing Safety Valve. The revised bill expands

eligibility for the existing safety valve under 18 U.S.C.

3553(f) from one to four criminal history points if a person

does not have prior 2-point convictions for crimes of

violence or drug trafficking offenses and prior 3-point

convictions. Under the expanded safety valve, judges will

have discretion to make a person eligible for the safety

valve in cases where the seriousness of his or her criminal

history is overrepresented, or it is unlikely he or she would

commit other crimes. This crucial expansion of the safety

valve will reduce sentences for an estimated 2,100 people per

year.

Retroactive Application of Fair Sentencing Act (FSA). The

new version of FIRST STEP Act would retroactively apply the

statutory changes of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (FSA),

which reduced the disparity in sentence lengths between crack

and powder cocaine. This change in the law will allow people

who were sentenced under the harsh and discriminatory 100 to

1 crack to powder cocaine ratio to be resentenced under the

2010 law. This long overdue improvement would allow over

2,600 people the chance to be resentenced.

Reforms the Unfair Two-Strikes and Three-Strikes Laws. The

new version of FIRST STEP would reduce the impact of certain

mandatory minimums. It would reduce the mandatory life

sentence for a third drug felony to a mandatory minimum

sentence of 25 years and reduce the 20-year mandatory minimum

for a second drug felony to 15 years.

Eliminates 924(c) ``stacking''. The revised bill would also

amend 18 U.S.C. 924(c), which currently allows ``stacking,''

or consecutive sentences for gun charges stemming from a

single incident committed during a drug crime or a crime of

violence. The legislation would require a prior gun

conviction to be final before a person could be subject to an

enhanced sentence for possession of a firearm. This provision

in federal law has resulted in very long and unjust

sentences.

II. Prison Reform Changes to House-passed FIRST STEP Act,

H.R. 3356--The revised bill also made some strides in

improving some of the problematic prison reform provisions.

The new bill strengthened oversight over the new risk

assessment system, limited the discretion of the attorney

general, and increased funding for prison programming, among

other things. The bill now does the following:

Establishes an Independent Review Committee. The revised

bill establishes an Independent Review Committee (IRC) of

outside experts to assist the Attorney General in the

development of the risk and needs assessment system. The

National Institute of Justice would select a nonpartisan,

nonprofit organization with expertise in risk and needs

assessments to host the IRC. This added guardrail will help

to ensure the risk and needs assessment system is evidence-

based and potentially help to mitigate any harms.

Permits Early Community Release and Loosens Restrictions on

Home Confinement. The House-passed FIRST STEP Act limited the

use of earned credits to time in prerelease custody (halfway

house or home confinement). The revised bill would expand the

use of earned credits to supervised release in the community.

The bill also would permit individuals in home confinement to

participate in family-related activities that facilitate the

prisoner's successful reentry.

Increased Funding for Prison Reforms. The revised bill

would authorize $75 million annually, a 50 percent increase

over the House-passed bill's $50 million annual

authorization.

Limits Discretion to Deny Early Release. The revised bill

strikes language giving the BOP Director and/or the prison

warden broad discretion to deny release to individuals who

meet all eligibility criteria.

Mandates BOP Capacity. The revised bill mandates that BOP

ensure there is sufficient prerelease custody capacity to

accommodate all eligible prisoners. This helps to address

concerns that individuals would be unable to use their earned

credits because of waiting lists for prerelease custody.

Effectively Ends Federal Juvenile Solitary Confinement. The

revised bill significantly restricts juvenile solitary

confinement, which can cause substantial psychological

damage.

Reauthorizes Second Chance Act. The revised bill

reauthorizes the Second Chance Act, which provides federal

funding for drug treatment, vocational training, and other

reentry and recidivism programming.

While these revisions to the bill were critical to

garnering our support, we must acknowledge that some of the

more concerning aspects of the House-passed version of the

FIRST STEP Act remain.

III. Outstanding Concerns Regarding the FIRST STEP Act--The

bill continues to exclude too many people from earning time

credits, including those convicted of immigration-related

offenses. It does not retroactively apply its sentencing

reform provisions to people convicted of anything other than

crack convictions, continues to allow for-profit companies to

benefit off of incarceration, fails to address parole for

juveniles serving life sentences in federal prison, and

expands electronic monitoring.

Fails to Include Retroactivity for Enhanced Mandatory

Minimum Sentences for Prior Drug Offenses & 924(c)

``stacking.'' The bill does not include retroactivity for its

sentencing reforms besides the long-awaited retroactivity for

the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. This minimizes the overall

impact substantially. Retroactivity is a vital part of any

meaningful sentencing reform. Not only does it ensure that

the changes we make to our criminal justice system benefit

the people most impacted by it, but it's also one of the

essential policy changes to reduce mass incarceration. The

federal prison population has fallen by over 38,000 since

2013 thanks in large part to retroactive application of

sentencing guidelines approved by the U.S. Sentencing

Commission. More than 3,000 people will be left in prison

without retroactive application of the ``three strikes'' law

and the change to the 924(c) provisions in the FIRST STEP

Act.

Excludes Too Many Federal Prisoners from New Earned Time

Credits. The bill continues to exclude many federal prisoners

from earning time credits and excludes many federal prisoners

from being able to ``cash in'' the credits they earn. The

long list of exclusions in the bill sweep in, for example,

those convicted of certain immigration offenses and drug

offenses. Because immigration and drug offenses account for

53.3 percent of the total federal prison population, many

people could be excluded from utilizing the time credits they

earned after completing programming. The continued exclusion

of immigrants from the many benefits of the bill simply based

on immigration status is deeply troubling. The Senate version

of FIRST STEP maintains a categorical exclusion of people

convicted of certain immigration offenses from earning time

credits under the bill. The new version of the bill also bars

individuals from using the time credits they have earned if

they have a final order of removal. More than 12,000 people

are currently in federal prison for immigration offenses and

are disproportionately people of color. Thus, a very large

number of people in federal prison would not reap the

benefits proposed in this bill and a disproportionate number

of those excluded would be people of color. Denying early-

release credits to certain people also reduces their

incentive to complete the rehabilitative programs and

contradicts the goal of increasing public safety. Any reforms

enacted by Congress should impact a significant number of

people in federal prison and reduce racial disparities or

they will have little effect on the fiscal and human costs of

incarceration.

Allows Private Prison Companies to Profit. The bill also

maintains concerning provisions that could privatize

government functions and allow the Attorney General excessive

discretion. FIRST STEP provides that in order to expand

programming, BOP shall enter into partnerships with private

organizations and companies under policies developed by the

Attorney General, ``subject to appropriations.'' This could

result in the further privatization of what should be public

functions and would allow private entities to unduly profit

from incarceration.

Relies on Discriminatory Risk Assessment System. The bill

continues to give the Bureau of Prisons and the Attorney

General too much discretion in the design, implementation,

and review of the tool, including the ability for the BOP to

use an existing tool. It also continues to misuse terminology

(i.e. recidivism risk vs. risk categories), inappropriately

ties risk categories to earned time credits, and fails to

properly safeguard against unwarranted racial disparities.

Fails to Include Parole for Juveniles, Sealing and

Expungement. Under SRCA, judges would have discretion to

reduce juvenile life without parole sentences after 20 years.

It would also permit some juveniles to seal or expunge non-

violent convictions from their record. The FIRST STEP Act

does not address these important bipartisan provisions.

IV. Conclusion

Bringing fairness and dignity to our justice system is one

of the most important civil and human rights issues of our

time. The revised version of the FIRST STEP Act is a modest,

but important move towards achieving some meaningful reform

to the criminal legal system. While the bill continues to

have its problems, and we will fight to address those in the

future, it does include concrete sentencing reforms that

would impact people's lives. For these reasons, we urge you

to vote YES on S. 756.

Ultimately, the First Step Act is not the end--it is just

the next in a series of efforts over the past 10 years to

achieve important federal criminal justice reform. Congress

must take many more steps to undo the harms of the tough on

crime policies of the 80's and 90's--to create a system that

is just and equitable, significantly reduces the number of

people unnecessarily entering the system, eliminates racial

disparities, and creates opportunities for second chances.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to

contact Jesselyn McCurdy, Deputy Director, ACLU Washington

Legislative Office, at [email protected] or (202) 675-2307 or

Sakira Cook, Director, Justice Program, The Leadership

Conference, at [email protected] or (202) 263-2894.

Sincerely,

Faiz Shakir,

National Political Director, ACLU, National Political

Advocacy Dept.

Jesselyn McCurdy,

Deputy Director, ACLU, Washington Legislative Office.

Vanita Gupta,

President & CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and

Human Rights.

Sakira Cook, Director,

Justice Program, The Leadership Conference on Civil and

Human Rights.

Judicial Conference of

The United States,

Washington, DC, November 30, 2018.

Hon. Charles E. Grassley,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I write on behalf of the Judicial

Conference of the United States, the policy-making body for

the federal Judiciary, regarding S. 3649, the ``First Step

Act,'' which was introduced on November 15, 2018. The

Judiciary strongly supports many of the reforms proposed by

S. 3649. We note that several provisions, however, will

impose new workload requirements on the federal Judiciary,

particularly on judges and our probation system, which will

necessitate additional resources.

Title I: Recidivism Reduction

We greatly appreciate that, unlike several of its

legislative predecessors, S. 3649 would not require Article

III judges to exercise powers that traditionally have been

exercised by officials in the executive branch in deciding

whether an inmate may be allowed to serve a portion of his or

her prison sentence in the community. Such decisions are in

the nature of parole and therefore we agree that they are

more appropriately made by the executive branch, which has

direct contact with the inmates and the most accurate and up-

to-date information about their conduct and condition.

We remain concerned, however, about the resources that the

federal probation system would be required to expend to

ensure the effective implementation of S. 3649. Specifically,

one of this bill's predecessors--H.R. 3356, the ``Prison

Reform and Redemption Act''--required the Director of the

Bureau of Prisons (``BOP'') to ``provide for the transfer of

such funds as may be necessary'' to the federal probation

system to ``supervise prisoners placed in home confinement or

community supervision.''

Unfortunately, this language is omitted from S. 3649 in

favor of a more general statement that agreements between BOP

and the federal probation system should ``take into account''

the resource requirements of the federal probation system

``to the greatest extent practicable'' when moving prisoners

to prerelease custody or supervised release.

Our position has been that reimbursement authority is

preferable to transfer authority, and we are concerned that

the explicit deletion of the transfer provision found in H.R.

3356 could be read as communicating a lack of support for the

underlying concept that the probation and pretrial services

system must be provided with the resources necessary to

execute its new responsibilities. Further, Sections 101 and

104 of S. 3649 indicate that recidivism reduction activities

at the BOP (potentially including the costs of funding

agreements with the probation system under Section 102)

should be covered by the ``savings'' realized as a result of

the implementation of this title. This may be an insufficient

or unreliable source of funding because much of the

``savings'' will be in the form of future cost avoidances

rather than current excess appropriations that could be

reinvested. Without the provision of such resources in future

appropriations acts and via other funding mechanisms, the

Judiciary will be unable to carry out the provisions of the

bill as intended without diverting resources from other

critical activities that are needed to ensure public safety

and the efficient administration of justice.

In addition to our concerns about resources that will be

needed, we also ask that you consider amending S. 3649 to

include the Judicial Conference's legislative proposal to

allow federal probation officers to conduct their official

duties more safely--which include conducting searches and

seizing contraband--by authorizing probation officers to

arrest anyone who assaults, impedes, or interferes with them

while carrying out official duties. This legislation already

has passed the House of Representatives this Congress, and

has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Title IV: Sentencing Reform

For over sixty years, the Judicial Conference has

consistently and vigorously opposed mandatory minimum

sentencing provisions and has supported measures for their

repeal or to ameliorate their effects. Mandatory minimums do

not enhance the administration of justice, but have proven to

undermine it by wasting valuable taxpayer dollars, creating

tremendous injustice in sentencing, undermining guideline

sentencing, and ultimately fostering a lack of confidence in

the criminal justice system.

S. 3649 would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for

certain offenses, which the Judicial Conference supports.

Moreover, Section 402 would expand the existing safety valve,

which is consistent with the Conference's support for

``legislation . . . that is designed to restore judges'

sentencing discretion and avoid the costs associated with

mandatory minimum sentences.'' The Conference continues to

pursue its overriding goal of persuading Congress to reduce

or repeal mandatory minimum sentences.

The Judicial Conference supports the amendment to 18 U.S.C.

924(c)(1)(C), contained in Section 403 of S. 3649, that would

clarify that the additional consecutive penalties apply only

to true repeat offenders, i.e., those with one or more

convictions that have become final prior to the commission of

such offense. Section 924(c)(1)(C) compounds the problems

created by mandatory minimums, however, by treating multiple

Section 924(c) counts in one indictment as triggers of the

statute's second-or-subsequent-conviction mandatory minimums.

Section 404 of S. 3649 would retroactively apply the ``Fair

Sentencing Act of 2010,'' which reduced the disparity between

sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses, to inmates

who had been sentenced prior to its August 3, 2010, enactment

date. This proposal is consistent with the Judicial

Conference's strategy to restore fairness to the sentences

for defendants convicted of crack cocaine offenses. Noting

concern that the disparity between the sentences for powder

and crack cocaine offenses could have a corrosive effect on

public confidence in the courts, the Conference agreed to

oppose that disparity and supported its reduction.

Title V: Miscellaneous Criminal Justice

We appreciate that Section 509 of S. 3649 would help to

ensure the supervision of released sexually dangerous

persons. In the interest of ensuring public safety, the

Judicial Conference supports giving probation officers clear

statutory authority to supervise these offenders, and we are

pleased to see it included in this legislation.

We are concerned with the potential impact of Section

503(b), which would amend 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A) to allow a

defendant to bring a motion on his or her own behalf for

modification of an imposed term of imprisonment, commonly

known as compassionate release. This amendment could result

in premature motions to federal courts, before administrative

appeals have been fully exhausted, thereby forcing federal

judges to decide these motions on an incomplete or

undeveloped record. Depending on how BOP implements this

provision, additional judicial resources could be required to

handle petitions for compassionate release filed by prisoners

when a warden fails to act on a prisoner's request for such

relief. It is also unclear whether the defendant would be

entitled to counsel for this process, including

court-appointed counsel. We may be in touch with further

observations or concerns after the Judicial Conference has

studied this issue in detail.

Relatedly, the Judicial Conference supports expanding

judges' authority to terminate supervised release for

compassionately released inmates. Ongoing supervision of

certain offenders, such as those in hospice care, may be

wasteful of public resources.

Relevant Positions of the Judicial Conference

The Judicial Conference believes that the Sentencing

Commission would benefit by having a federal defender

representative as a non-voting member. Prosecutors currently

are ably represented in the Commission's proceedings by the

ex officio non-voting member assigned to the Attorney General

or his designee.

Notably, although S. 3649 would implement sweeping

sentencing and prison reforms, it does not address the

pretrial system. Section 4285 of title 18, U.S. Code,

currently authorizes courts to order the United States

Marshals Service (``USMS'') to provide a released defendant

with non-custodial transportation and subsistence to the

court where that individual's appearance is required, when

the interests of justice would be served and the client is

financially unable to pay transportation costs. The Judicial

Conference supports giving courts the discretion, in the

interests of justice, to order the USMS to furnish, when

financially necessary, transportation and subsistence

(lodging and food) for defendants returning home from court

proceedings, and subsistence while attending such

proceedings, including for successive court appearances. This

provision would not be applicable for a defendant found by

the court to be financially able to cover these costs. Draft

statutory language for each of the aforementioned proposed

reforms was submitted to your office earlier this Congress

and is attached.

Section 3142(e) of title 18, U.S. Code, creates a

presumption that certain defendants should be detained

pending trial because a court cannot craft conditions of

supervision that would reasonably assure both the safety of

the community and the defendant's appearance at court

proceedings. The statute identifies several categories of

defendants to whom this presumption applies, including those

charged with specific drug trafficking offenses, and places

the burden on a defendant to rebut the presumption for

detention. In keeping with its support of evidence-based

supervision practices, the Administrative Office of the U.S.

Courts conducted a study analyzing data collected from a ten-

year period. The study reveals that a sizeable segment of

low-risk defendants fall into the category of drug

traffickers subject to the presumption of detention. The

study concluded that these defendants are detained at a high

rate, even when their criminal histories and other applicable

risk factors indicate that they pose a low risk of either

reoffending or absconding while on pretrial release, and

arguably should be released for pretrial supervision.

Legal, policy, and budgetary factors--including the

presumption of innocence and the relative costs of

incarceration versus pretrial supervision--support reducing

unnecessary pretrial detention. Therefore, at its September

2017 meeting, upon recommendation of the Criminal Law

Committee, the Judicial Conference endorsed limiting the

application of the presumption of detention to defendants

whose criminal history suggests that they pose a higher risk

of failing to appear or being a danger to the community if

released pending trial. This would enable judges to make

pretrial release decisions for low-risk defendants on a case-

by-case basis. No defendant would be automatically released

into the community if this proposal were enacted. We would be

glad to provide draft statutory language, as well as an

academic article analyzing the aforementioned study, for your

consideration.

Conclusion

Thank you for considering the federal Judiciary's views on

this important legislation. If we may be of further

assistance to you in this or any other matter, please do not

hesitate to contact us through the Office of Legislative

Affairs, Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts.

Sincerely,

James C. Duff,

Secretary.

Enclosure.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support S. 2961 to save our children, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is interesting to suggest that anyone is telling an untruth when 24 hours ago this House committed to passing a CR to stop the government from being shut down and the United States Senate passed it without objection to keep the government open. Here we are now, with the government on the verge of closing because the President owns it, and we are talking about a bill that creates $53 billion in deficit and does not help the middle class and small businesses and has a pox on women as relates to choice.

What kind of crisis are my friends trying to build a few days before we rise to take leadership as a majority in the 116th Congress? Maybe we should have hearings, but maybe we should stop this bill altogether and get back to keeping the government open and passing a continuing resolution so that the working people in all of these agencies, including Border Patrol agents and others, can do their job.

This is an insanity that keeps on growing. Mr. President, let's stop doing this and keep the government open, and let's have hearings on this tax bill to ensure that we do what is right for small businesses, working families, and women of America.

Mr. Speaker, I know what it is like to be waiting on disaster aid and not getting it. Among other things, this potential or so-called disaster aid is missing dollars needed by the people of Puerto Rico. I walked the streets and saw how desperate the need was. It doesn't even include the $600 million in assistance for Puerto Rico to deal with food nutrition.

I remember, in the time of Hurricane Harvey, we begged for an extension for the food nutrition program called Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and in 3 days, we served 30,000 people. You have to feel the pain to understand.

Really, Mr. Speaker, this is a sham and a shame, because Republicans are in the United States Senate--let the American people understand that--and they fostered this compromise. They came together. They have sent it to the President. They spoke to the President. The President agreed that we would do it in this manner and that we would look at this issue on the other side of 2019.

What happened here? A callous disregard of Border Patrol agents; callous disregard of Customs and Border Protection; callous disregard of the National Guard and the military who are down at the border, who are out there every day; and a callous disregard of Jakelin, the 7- year-old who died because we don't have adequate health facilities, medical care, medevac, and the kind of decent living conditions--yes, decent--that are warranted.

We are shutting down Commerce and Justice. We don't have enough judges at the border. We don't have enough judges to deal with the asylum cases.

So if these folks want border security, it is not just a wall. It is technology. It is the agents. It is understanding that human beings are coming across the border. It is medical care. It is, as well, the security that we need.

So I am here to say, Mr. Speaker, as I close, what a sham and a shame. Let's get the Senate bill and put it on the floor.

Yesterday, I introduced H.R. 7332 that says no American tax dollars will be paid for the wall. Mexico will pay for it. Border security will be based upon technology, personnel, and barriers.

Let's pass that bill and pass the CR from the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, during this holiday season, I am baffled as to why and how we have gotten here to this place.

In the last 24 hours, a tweet went out from the White House that would end the Syrian war, to the opposition of the national security team--General Mattis, the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor, and others who thought that a tweet ending the war was never heard of in the history of the United States.

In the course of these 24 hours, we are in the midst of a political collapse, a catastrophic collapse, and a shutting down of the government. Included in the shutting down of the government will be the funding for the State Department and Homeland Security.

It is clear that we are at a constitutional crisis, one that requires the attentiveness of this body, and to recognize the leaving and retiring of General Mattis, who has indicated: Maybe you can have a Secretary of Defense that fits your thinking.

What thinking?

And then to hear from North Korea: Maybe you can remove the troops off of our borders.

This is a time for us to speak up, to protect the American people, and not a time to shut the government down.

I hope the President is listening.

Mr. Speaker, today, I remind my colleagues of a President who reminded us of the shining city on a Hill. I remind our colleagues of a President who led us to a kinder and gentler society. So I am stunned to hear the President speak of claiming to be asking for the government to be shut down.

This is a season where many in our Nation draw together with families and worship and celebrate. It is a very honored time. People of the Christian faith are engaged in the recognition and acknowledgment of the birth of baby Jesus. It is a holy time. It is a time when families need resources. Government workers need to ensure that their families are provided for, but also we must ensure that our government is provided for. I thank the Speaker-elect and the Democratic leader in the Senate, the other body, for recognizing that we do not want a shutdown.

To those who speak of the necessity of a wall, let me speak as a Representative of a border State who has been to the border so many times, I cannot count. I count those on the border, among many of the States, as friends, having been to every border State. I will say to the American people: There is no foreign war or attack at the southern border.

We have a northern border as well, and I have been there. There is no wall there.

The only thing that is at the southern border are mothers and children living in desperate, devastating, and disgusting conditions, and unaccompanied children fleeing from the decapitation of their brothers or fathers, fleeing politically because they disagree with the viciousness of cartels and refuse to accept their membership.

That is where America's best angels come in, when we rise to the higher occasion of giving refuge and opportunity to those who are fleeing political persecution. Here is how we do it. We process asylum seekers. We do not undermine their process. They are fleeing for their lives.

To juxtapose a stagnant wall to the lives of those fleeing political persecution is untenable. It is crucial that we design a comprehensive immigration reform policy. It is crucial that the acknowledgment that barriers of certain kinds--technology and personnel--can be a successful formula to ensure the safety and security of the American people. But at the same time, I insist that we regulate or bring into regular order Dreamers, who are firefighters, soldiers, lawyers, doctors, and family members throughout the Nation. Where is the call for that?

It is important that we remain a nation that people flee to because of the wonderful values of democracy, the underpinnings of the dignity of all people. It is sad at this time that we have not come to that conclusion in a bipartisan manner.

So I extend the olive branch. What are we doing for the Dreamers? Why is it not reasonable to construct a funding process or scheme or formula that ensures that kind of bipartisanship and security?

Let me also encourage my colleagues to join me in working in a bipartisan way to pass the Violence Against Women Act. We are reaching out. It is a crucial initiative. Right now, there are family members dying at the hands of domestic violence.

There are law enforcement officers, including my own chief, who asked me about the funding of the STOP grants that are utilized for organizations that will protect these families subjected to violence, such as Native Americans, with healthcare for VAWA victims and ensuring that the person who has already been convicted of abuse does not have random access to a weapon, which is the weapon of choice that kills a family member.

Finally, let me say I hope that we can bring, Mr. Speaker, conclusion to a sentencing and prison reform bill that I have worked very hard on.

Why not give a gift to the American people--not a shutdown, but a bipartisan step, one by one, to make America an even greater country than it already is

Mr. Speaker, last year, in Hurricane Harvey, many in my community became food insecure. I cannot tell you how important maintaining the current SNAP benefits are.

I thank the chairman from Texas and my good friend, to-be chairman from Minnesota, for their coming together.

The importance of funding going to my land grant colleges is enormous in training new farmers.

The work that is being added--as a member of the Homeland Security Committee--on adding broadband in the rural communities is something that is so dearly needed and has been promised for many, many years.

The fact that we are expanding access to FSA farm loans for veterans, but, more importantly, for beginning farmers, creates a new pathway for those who are providing for us as the breadbasket of the world.

And then, in the rural areas of my district, rural economic development is crucial, and the rural development funds are vital. So many things have been able to occur because of this funding.

I ask my colleagues to support this bill because this is a perfect coming together. As former Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm said: A tree grows in Brooklyn. It is a good coming together of urban and rural supporting a dynamic bill and providing so that Americans are not food insecure and our children have the nutrition that they need.

Let us vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to honor a great force in our community in Houston, Texas, in Acres Homes. This coming Sunday, he will celebrate 90 years of age, but decades in the ministry, Reverend Dr. F.N. Williams, whose father preceded him in the ministry, whose sons have gone on into the ministry.

He is a pastor of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Acres Homes, one of the oldest churches in our State.

He is a warrior. He is a fighter for civil rights and civil justice. He was there on the front lines when the Honorable Barbara Jordan was elected and Mickey Leland. But even before that, he was one who would lead the community on addressing their rights and the right to stand against inequality.

He was a friend of President George H.W. Bush, who happened to represent Acres Homes before we had the 18th Congressional District, which I represent. They had a relationship. They fought against drugs in that community.

And, as well, he believes in education. He believes in young people. He has a church that reaches those who are in need.

So tonight, this evening, I am delighted to honor his beloved wife and his family members, but to say to him: I salute you on your 90th birthday. Reverend Dr. F.N. Williams, you are deserving and, yes, you are a great American.

Mr. Speaker, many of us will see this as the holiday season, but many of us know that our young college students will be finishing their first semester of whatever year they are in college.

As I was home this season greeting my constituents, one very dedicated constituent came to me and said: What are we doing about helping students get rid of this enormous burden of debt, trying to become a contributing citizen to this country?

I made a commitment to him that we would work together to reduce the interest rates on student government loans, to look forward to providing access to education to all Americans.

I believe, as students finish their first semester, looking to their second, some of them graduating, that we do have a responsibility to make sure that education is reasonable, accessible, and not the enormous burden that it is.

Let's help our college students. Let's help them succeed. I look forward to doing that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues tonight in what is a tribute to George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Bush, a tribute of which I hope we will continue to live.

It is my great honor to salute President Bush and to be reminded of the beauty of his love of 73 years, a partnership of service, raising a family, and serving a Nation. Last week's tribute of mourning, memorials, and funerals was an opportunity for not only the Nation, but the world to learn of the depth and the level of integrity, honesty, statesmanship, and leadership of our 41st President.

I am glad to have known him, as a Houstonian, and delighted to have worked with his wife, Barbara Bush, on her great commitment that everyone should have the ability to read. Literacy was a standard- bearer by which she guided her later life. So many people learned to read and cherish books because of her service.

I got to know the President more closely because of his relationship with my husband, Dr. Elwyn C. Lee. What most people don't know is, preceding the Honorable Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland, parts of the 18th Congressional District, of which I represent, was represented by this young Congressman by the name of George Herbert Walker Bush. They were African Americans in a segregated Houston. He was beloved because of his eagerness to treat everyone as a human being.

One of his dear friends, who will turn 90 in a couple of weeks, Reverend Dr. F.N. Williams, the pastor of the Antioch Baptist Church-- he still is the pastor--and I remember standing next to him in Acres Homes when then-President Herbert Walker Bush landed his big helicopter right there in our community, showing and affirming the friendship.

We further enjoyed the opportunity to know him, along with my husband, through his assisting him in his own high school, Andover Academy, and how kind he was to send a gift for our wedding from China.

He is more than the President of the United States, the Congressman; the chair of the RNC, the envoy, among others--the Vice-President, President, the Director of the CIA, and most of all, a hero of World War II, where he, in his effort to fight for this Nation also, was shot down and looked to save his colleagues.

He is a hero. He is a friend. He is a man we will honor and continue to honor. By our lives and our service we hope to affirm both the wonderful life of his lovely bride, as well as himself, and to say to his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and others: Rest well. Thank you for sharing him with us, for he did serve his Nation. By that, he has served the people of this Nation. My God bless.

Mr. Speaker, as Members of Congress we know well, perhaps better than most, how blessed our nation is to have in reserve such exceptional young men and women who will go on to become leaders in their local communities, states, and the nation in the areas of business, education, government, philanthropy, the arts and culture, and the military.

We know this because we see them and benefit from their contributions every day. Many of them work for us in our offices as junior staff members, congressional fellows, or interns and they do amazing work for and on behalf of the constituents we are privileged to represent.

Mr. Speaker, I believe there is no higher calling than the call to serve a cause larger than ourselves. That is why I ran for public office. I was inspired to serve by President Kennedy who said, ``Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,'' and by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said:

``Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. . . .

You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by

love.''

By this measure, there are several other great young men and women who served as volunteers this year in my offices. They may toil in obscurity but their contributions to the constituents we serve are deeply appreciated. That is why today I rise to pay tribute to 4 extraordinary young persons for their service to my constituents in the 18th Congressional District of Texas and to the American people. They are:

Stephen Singleton from Texas Tech University;

Tynesea Watts from University of Kentucky;

Jacqueline Lee from The Madeira School; and

Nisreen Marabe from The Madeira School.

Mr. Speaker, the energy, intelligence, and idealism these wonderful young people brought to my office and those interning in the offices of my colleagues help keep our democracy vibrant. The insights, skills, and knowledge of the governmental process they gain from their experiences will last a lifetime and prove invaluable to them as they go about making their mark in this world.

Because of persons like them the future of our country is bright and its best days lie ahead. I wish them all well.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that such thoughtful committed young men and women can be found working in my office, those of my colleagues, and in every community in America. Their good works will keep America great, good, and forever young.