On the recordOctober 6, 2011
I am pleased that Members of the House from both parties acted quickly to reauthorize the U.S. Parole Commission. I was glad to help move this important measure in the Senate, and am disappointed that we were forced to accept this unnecessary amendment to shorten the bipartisan House bill. Today's amendment wastes valuable time and resources by forcing Congress to reauthorize the Commission again in another 2 years, instead of working toward a more permanent solution. Although Federal parole was abolished decades ago, the U.S. Parole Commission still has jurisdiction over thousands of offenders in the District of Columbia, as well as some in other parts of the country. Without reauthorization, we faced the risk that offenders would be released early without the proper public safety assessment. I believe that passing this bill promotes public safety and fairness. I would like to commend Chairman Lamar Smith and Ranking Member John Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee and Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin for joining together to originate this bill and move it through the House Judiciary Committee and the House. AMENDMENT NO. 736
