Dick Durbin: “The National District Attorneys Association, which is the largest group of criminal prosecutors in America, has endorsed…”

“The National District Attorneys Association, which is the largest group of criminal prosecutors in America, has endorsed our criminal justice reform bill. We have brought together an incredible coalition. I am proud to have not only the civil rights community, but we also have others from the conservative side, such as Michael Mukasey, former Attorney General. Everyone knows him to be a tough prosecutor. He endorses our bill. Others have come forward. They understand that it is time to step back and take an honest look at where we are today. This criminal justice reform bill will bring some sanity to our corrections system, and it will save us money. Roughly one-fourth of the Department of Justice appropriations now goes into prisons. By the year 2030, it will be 30 percent. As Senator Lee said, we are spending more money on prisons than we are spending in the Department of Justice on the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration combined. What if we could reduce that prison population in a responsible, sensible way that doesn't endanger public safety but gives us resources that could be used by the Department of Justice for law enforcement, for dealing with the heroin epidemic across America and making our neighborhoods truly safe? What if we could take part of that and invest it in the lives of young people before they turn to gangs, before they turn to drugs, and before they turn to guns?…”