Political Quotes

“this December marks the seventh anniversary of the passage of the First Step Act, the most significant reform to our criminal justice system in a generation. That victory was born out of years of bipartisan negotiations led by myself and my colleagues Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Senator Mike Lee of Utah--Democrats and Republicans working together. The end result was and continues to be life-changing for the people who were impacted. The First Step Act delivered much needed reforms to our outdated sentencing laws and provided real opportunities for incarcerated Americans to safely reenter their communities. Those reforms have reduced populations in overcrowded prisons, reunited families, and revitalized communities these men and women reenter as productive neighbors. The evidence backs it up. Just look at the numbers. Of the more than 40,000 people released under the law through January 2024, just under 10 percent have been rearrested--40,000, under 10 percent. Compare that to the Bureau of Prisons' overall recidivism rate, which is 45 percent. The difference between 10 percent and 45 percent is striking, and it shows what we can achieve when we are smart on crime and follow the data.”