Voted YES on expanding services for offendors' re-entry into society.
H.R.1593: Second Chance Act of 2007: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention or the Second Chance Act (Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass). To reauthorize the grant program for reentry of offenders into the community in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, and to improve reentry planning and implementation.
Proponents support voting YES because:
Rep. CONYERS: Some 650,000 men and women are leaving the Federal and State prisons each year. While the vast majority of the prisoners are committed to abiding by the law and becoming productive members of society, they often encounter the same pressures & temptations that they faced before prison. More than two-thirds of them are arrested for new crimes within 3 years of their release. This exacts a terrible cost in financial terms as well as in human terms. The Second Chance Act will help provide these men and women with the training, counseling and other support needed to help them obtain
& hold steady jobs; to kick their drug and alcohol habits; rebuild their families; and deal with the many other challenges that they face in their efforts to successfully rejoin society.
Opponents recommend voting NO because:
Rep. GOHMERT: The programs that are sought to be renewed are ones we don't have information on how successful they were. I can tell you from my days as a judge, there was some anecdotal evidence that it looked like faith-based programs did a better job of dramatically reducing recidivism. In addition:
There are some provisions that allow for too much administration. That is going to build a bigger bureaucracy.
Dismissing all charges if someone completes drug rehab under another provision I think is outrageous. You are going to remove the hammer that would allow you to keep people in line?
We also have a provision to teach inmates how they can go about getting the most welfare before they leave prison and go out on their own.
Reference: Second Chance Act;
Bill HR1593
; vote number 2007-1083
on Nov 13, 2007
Voted NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons.
Vote on an amendment that would reduce the funding for violent offender imprisonment by and truth-in-sentencing programs by $61 million. The measure would increase funding for Boys and Girls Clubs and drug courts by the same amount.
Reference: Amendment sponsored by Scott, D-VA;
Bill HR 4690
; vote number 2000-317
on Jun 22, 2000
Voted YES on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime.
Vote to pass a bill to appropriate $1.5 billion to all of the states that want to improve their juvenile justice operations. Among other provisions this bill includes funding for development, implementation, and administration of graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders, funds for building, expanding, or renovating juvenile corrections facilities, hiring juvenile judges, probation officers, and additional prosecutors for juvenile cases.
Reference: Bill introduced by McCollum, R-FL;
Bill HR 1501
; vote number 1999-233
on Jun 17, 1999
Rated 22% by CURE, indicating anti-rehabilitation crime votes.
Brady scores 22% by CURE on rehabilitation issues
CURE (Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants) is a membership organization of families of prisoners, prisoners, former prisoners and other concerned citizens. CURE's two goals are
to use prisons only for those who have to be in them; and
for those who have to be in them, to provide them all the rehabilitative opportunities they need to turn their lives around.
The ratings indicate the legislator�s percentage score on CURE�s preferred votes.
Rated 88% by the NCJA, indicating a "tough-on-crime" stance.
Brady scores 88% by the NCJA on crime issues
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005 NCJA scores as follows:
0%- 74%: "soft-on-crime" record (approx. 133 members)
75%- 84%: mixed record on criminal justice (approx. 114 members)
85%-100%: "tough-on-crime" record (approx. 216 members)
About the NCJA (from their website, www.ncja.org):
The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) exists to promote the development of justice systems in states, tribal nations, and units of local government that enhance public safety; prevent and reduce the harmful effects of criminal and delinquent behavior on victims, individuals and communities; adjudicate defendants and sanction offenders fairly and justly; and that are effective and efficient.
Toward this end, the Association:
Maintains the focus of state, tribal, local and federal governments on the needs of the criminal and juvenile justice systems;
Represents state, tribal, and local criminal and juvenile justice system concerns to the federal government;
Provides support for the development of criminal and juvenile justice policy for the nation's governors and tribal leaders;
Supports the public and all levels of government in the achievement of public safety by the coordination of education, community and social service systems, in addition to law enforcement and criminal justice measures;
Serves as a catalyst for the careful consideration and promotion of effective and efficient criminal and juvenile justice policies and practices;
Advocates for the commitment of adequate resources to support all components of the criminal and juvenile justice systems; and
Coordinates between the different branches and levels of government and promotes broad philosophical agreement.
