On the recordMay 22, 2018
Let me thank Congressman Jeffries and Congressman Collins for this FIRST STEP Act. Does it go as far as I would want it to go? It doesn't. But is it a substantial step in the right direction? The answer is yes. When we start talking about prison reform, we start talking about ways to help those who are incarcerated, one, when they get out; two, to better themselves when they are already in. And one of the things we do in this bill is to allow movement of inmates closer to their families so that they can keep that family connection, so that they can continue to be a part of the family, which also reduces recidivism. We also fix the ``good time'' problem that has happened. For every 7 days that you increase good time, you save $50 million a year. Not only did we fix it this year, but we fixed the problem BOP interpreted in the law, contrary to congressional intent, in the first place. So this bill takes, I believe, a significant step in the right direction, not to mention the $250 million toward restorative justice and other ways. Hopefully, the savings from this bill will continue to go toward criminal justice and we will continue to take second and third steps.
