On the recordMay 9, 2012
As best as I'm able to determine, this is a bipartisan vote of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, just saying that there should be reasonableness in the process of looking at this question. We have a lot of young people who get themselves involved in circumstances young, at early points in their lives, but we do want them to be gainfully employed and productive citizens in our various States. But, nonetheless, this is a matter that has been litigated in various courts and, to some degree, I think it's helped to bring a more commonsense approach to this process. But here again, to deny funds for the lawyers of the Federal Government to be able to handle these matters in a court of law I don't believe is the appropriate way to go. So I stand in opposition to this amendment. I stand for the notion that we should be trying to reengage people in productive lives, in employment, reunite them with their families and build stronger communities, and I think that's the purpose of much of the work that we're doing related to reentry. I yield back the balance of my time.
