On the recordApril 4, 2017
I rise today to introduce the Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment Act, or REDEEM Act. This bill would take meaningful steps towards allowing returning citizens to obtain employment. As President George W. Bush said in his 2004 State of the Union Address, ``America is the land of the second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.'' The REDEEM Act would help provide people with that second chance after their incarceration. I thank Senator Paul for his tireless work with me on the REDEEM Act. In the last 30 years, the number of incarcerated people in the United States has drastically increased. Since 1980, the federal prison population alone has grown by nearly 800 percent and American taxpayers are left paying for the bill. In fiscal year 2014, the Bureau of Prisons accounted for a quarter of the Department of Justice's budget at $6.9 billion. Our bloated criminal justice system wastes priceless human potential and fails to make our communities safer. It also fails to adequately prepare the over 600,000 people each year who are released from prison for their return to the community. A high number of Americans living in our communities have criminal convictions. About 70 million people in the United States have been arrested or convicted of a crime. That means almost one in three adults in the United States has a criminal record.…
