Dick Durbin: “there are a lot of divisions on Capitol Hill, and the press spends a lot of time reporting differences between Democrats…”

“there are a lot of divisions on Capitol Hill, and the press spends a lot of time reporting differences between Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate. I think that is one of the reasons the press conference I just left is noteworthy, because at this press conference, we had equal numbers of Democratic Senators and Republican Senators talking about a bill that we hope to move forward on the floor of the Senate. The bill relates to criminal justice reform. I am pleased to cosponsor this legislation with Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We are proud to have the support as well of Senator Leahy and Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who was one of the original authors of this bill 3 years ago when we both introduced it. We also have the support of the Republican whip, John Cornyn of Texas; Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island; and many others who have joined this effort. What is it about this bill that could bring people together who are so different--liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans? It is a common belief that we bring to this that at this moment in history, we need to take an honest look at the incarceration policy in America. The United States of America has 5 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's prisoners. Over the last 35 years, we have increased the number of Federal prisoners by anywhere from 800 percent to 900 percent.…”