Ted Poe: “I urge support of this so we can know exactly what is taking place with Federal funds that are being used to keep people…”

“I urge support of this so we can know exactly what is taking place with Federal funds that are being used to keep people and let people, as Ms. Jackson Lee pointed out, out of jail without having to use some other type of system. And if it is working, let's expand it. If it is not working, maybe Congress needs to be involved to make sure that people do show up for trial, because that is the whole key of a bond, is to release the person under some type of bond, like a pretrial release bond, but we want them to appear in court. I had cases in my court where people were released on pretrial release bonds; they would show up for trial. I had cases in my court where they were released on pretrial release bonds, and they are still running loose years later. We don't know the statistics of who is released and who comes back and who is released who never comes back. This legislation just wants a report to Congress so we can decide on reforms if necessary in the future. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.”