Political Quotes

“There is one thing everybody agrees on, and that is that it is past time that we face the institutionalized racial inequity that is built into every single step of our mass incarceration system. We know that mass incarceration disproportionately affects people of color and that, today, women in prison are, sadly, the fastest growing demographic, frequently caught up with the arrests of their partners and struggling with mental health and addiction. This bill does take important steps forward, and I want to say that it is a very good faith effort on the part of the bill's two sponsors: my friend Hakeem Jeffries and Representative Doug Collins. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I still am not going to be able to support the bill because I have serious concerns about how the bill creates, develops, and implements a new risk assessment system on a very quick timeline by someone who, frankly, has spent his career opposing criminal justice reforms and, in fact, has fought attempts to advance racial justice, and that is Attorney General Sessions. This is especially concerning given that research shows us that risk assessments produce racial disparities. And this bill does not address sentencing reform, which is an issue that has bipartisan support and is the crux of the problem today. In addition, Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned about language in the bill that excludes immigrants from being eligible for time credits.…”