Political Quotes

“last week the Department of Justice announced that the total U.S. prison population declined 1.7 percent from 2011 to 2012. I was encouraged to see that sentencing reform at the State level continues to pay dividends by simultaneously reducing prison costs and crime rates. I am troubled, however, that the entirety of the reduction in the U.S. prison population was attributable to the States. The number of Federal prisoners actually increased by almost 1,500 from 2011 to 2012. While this increase was smaller than in previous years, the Federal Government can no longer afford to continue on the course of ever- increasing prison costs. As of last week, the Federal prison population was over 219,000, with almost half of those men and women imprisoned on drug charges. This year, the Bureau of Prisons budget request was just below $7 billion. A major factor driving the increase in the incarceration rate has been the proliferation of Federal mandatory minimum sentences in the last 20 years. This one-size-fits-all approach to sentencing never made us safer, but it has cost us plenty. We must change course. In September, the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine the effects of Federal mandatory minimum sentences and measures to reform the system in order to combat injustice in sentencing and the waste of taxpayer dollars. In March, I joined with Senator Paul to introduce just such a measure.…”