On the recordDecember 8, 2020
As a senior member of the Judiciary, Committee, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8161, the ``One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act of 2020,'' which creates a new grant program that will provide money to States, Tribes, local governments, and community-based non-profits to create one-stop reentry centers to assist people who were recently released from jail or prison. The bill would also create a grant program for a toll-free hotline for returning individuals to access reentry services. As one who has worked on community reentry and recidivism reduction for most of tenure on this Committee, I am proud to join Crime Subcommittee Chair Karen Bass (D-CA) as a cosponsor of this legislation. There are currently over 2.1 million people incarcerated in local, state, and federal correctional facilities, a number that represents a more than 500 percent increase in the incarcerated population over the last 40 years. Over 95 percent of people currently incarcerated will eventually be released back to their communities. In fact, approximately 600,000 people are released from custody every year and at the end of 2016, an estimated 4.5 million adults were under community supervision, which includes probation or parole. Reentry services are essential for this population, to ensure that these individuals transition smoothly out of jail and prison and to keep recidivism to a minimum.…
