My time in prison reaffirmed my belief that the only way Congress can improve public safety while reducing costs is to reform Federal sentencing laws, especially mandatory minimum sentences.

The State Justice Act just introduced by Representatives Sensenbrenner and Bobby Scott is a good example of legislation that would reduce the flow of inmates in a responsible way.

So while some people absolutely deserve prison time, our goal should be to give them as little as necessary to accomplish the purposes of sentencing.

We have a unique moment, a bipartisan momentum for true, I mean, true reform, and it is ours to seize.

The provisions of this bill will save money and reduce crime.

As appealing as these policies may sound, their impact has overloaded our prisons.

I am very concerned about as many alternatives as possible to juvenile incarceration.

The research shows that providing incentives to inmates to complete educational, vocational, substance abuse, mental health, and traditional programs will help reduce both recidivism and the amount of money spent on the Federal prison…

It incorporates the work of the Over-Criminalization Task Force.

The only way that I think that we will eliminate that cycle... is if we deal with it holistically.

I believe that we need to be investing a lot in the beginning of this experience and that is in the mother's stomach.

I commend the President for his actions yesterday to commute the sentences of 46 drug offenders whose punishments did not match the crimes committed.

We cannot have a Nation where we are raising children of incarcerated adults, which is happening now.

We cannot--we cannot--perpetuate a system in which people have nowhere to go other than a life of crime.

A child with an incarcerated father is more likely to be suspended from school than a peer without an incarcerated father.

We think we have gotten rid of debtors prison, but it is alive and well in our Nation.

Now is the time for criminal justice reform, and the SAFE Justice Act delivers the change necessary to enact fairness in sentencing.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, rather than this rational, thoughtful approach, too many politicians across the country have chosen to play politics with crime policy.