U.S. House passes bipartisan prison
reform bill
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[May 23, 2018]
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan bill to
reform the federal prison system by helping inmates prepare for life
after their release and reduce recidivism rates passed the U.S. House of
Representatives on Tuesday, paving the way for it to be considered by
the Senate.
The First Step Act does not contain a broader overhaul favored by some
moderate conservatives and progressives seeking changes to mandatory
minimum sentencing laws that have kept many low-level offenders behind
bars for decades.
The bill's top Democratic and Republican sponsors have said such broad
reforms should be left out for now as a compromise to get legislation
passed by the Senate and signed into law.
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"Folks, this is what legislating looks like," Representative Doug
Collins of Georgia, the leading Republican sponsor of the bill, told
reporters on Monday. "Sometimes there are disagreements, but you come
together and you find compromise."
The bill would require the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a part of the
Justice Department, to do risk assessments on which inmates should
qualify and earn credits toward completing their sentences in halfway
houses or home confinement.
It would broaden job opportunities for inmates, expand laws on
compassionate release of prisoners, prevent the BOP from using
restraints on pregnant inmates and allow prisoners to earn early release
credits of up to 54 days for good behavior.
The good behavior provision would allow for the early release of an
estimated 4,000 prisoners.
The House bill contrasts with one in the Senate championed by Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley. It would lessen prison
sentences for non-violent drug offenders.
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![](../images/052318pics/news_y32.jpg)
Jail cells are seen in the Enhanced Supervision Housing Unit at the
Rikers Island Correctional facility in New York March 12, 2015.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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The White House said in a statement it was encouraged by the House
vote.
"This is an important bill that promotes evidence-based programs to
reduce recidivism and crime in America’s communities. Today's strong
bipartisan vote paves a path for action by the Senate," the
statement said.
How the House bill will fare in the Senate remains to be seen. While
some Senate Democrats and Republicans have indicated they will
support it in its current form, others may oppose the bill unless
sentencing reforms are added to it.
Adding such provisions could doom the bill because more hard-line,
law-and-order conservatives would then likely oppose it.
New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the leading Democratic
sponsor of the measure, told reporters on Monday that lawmakers
should seize the opportunity to pass some criminal justice reforms,
even if they do not go far enough.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Cynthia
Osterman and Lisa Shumaker)
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