The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PASSAGE OF THE SECOND CHANCE ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S1993-S1994 on March 12, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PASSAGE OF THE SECOND CHANCE ACT
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I seek recognition to comment on the passage of the Second Chance Act. I thank my colleagues Senators Brownback, Biden, and Leahy, who are original cosponsors of this bill, for their tireless advocacy for this long-needed legislation and my other colleagues for their support of the bill, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
Each year, as many as 700,000 offenders will be released from prison or jail. Unfortunately, approximately two-thirds of those individuals will be rearrested within 3 years of their release. The consequences of such high recidivism rates are disastrous for our Nation. Each year, approximately 1.5 million Americans become victims of violent crime. The total pecuniary and non-pecuniary cost of crime has been estimated to be as much as $2 trillion annually--or 17 percent of the gross domestic product. Much of this cost comes directly out of taxpayers' pockets--the cost of keeping a prisoner in jail is as high as $30,000 per year. The cumulative cost to the Federal Government is approximately $60 billion annually. High crime and recidivism rates have also proven cyclical in nature: with 2.3 million of offenders in prison and jail, nearly 2 million American children spend part of the year without their parent--a factor known to put those children at risk of later committing crimes themselves.
The likelihood that a prisoner will leave prison or jail, return to their family and community, obtain a job, and lead a productive and law-abiding life increases dramatically with increasing levels of education, job training, and substance abuse treatment. Yet, a few basic statistics demonstrate just how ill-equipped the 650,000 prisoners who will return to our neighborhoods and communities are to accomplish these basic objectives. Seventy percent of ex-offenders operate at the lowest levels of literacy. The majority struggle with drug and alcohol addiction--as many as 70 percent of prisoners were regular drug users prior to being convicted. Nearly 60 percent of ex-
offenders will be unemployed a year after they are released from prison.
The Second Chance Act will help break this dangerous cycle of recidivism. The bill will encourage realistic rehabilitation by providing prisoners who seek to turn their lives around with the education, literacy training, job training, employment assistance and substance abuse treatment they need to do so. The Second Chance Act will also enhance the proven-effective prison mentoring programs through which church members and community members provide individualized mentoring to prisoners who want to turn their lives around. The Second Chance Act draws on the experiences of many governmental, community, and non-profit organizations that are operating successful reentry programs around the country. For example, Pennsylvania's Community Orientation and Reintegration project, the Boston Reentry Initiative, and the Kansas Reentry Program have shepherded the way toward achieving lasting reductions in recidivism rates through innovative approaches to job training and education, family reunification, and public safety.
The Second Chance Act that will be signed by the President represents the tireless efforts of a tremendous bipartisan coalition from both houses of Congress. I am particularly thankful for the leadership of Senator Brownback, Senator Biden, and Senator Leahy who have worked with me for years to negotiate the bill's final language. As a result of these negotiations, the grant programs in the bill are focused and streamlined, and provide for the kind of accountability we need to ensure that the programs operated under the bill meet their goal of achieving real reductions in recidivism rates. I am pleased that the bill has the support of over 200 organizations from both ends of the ideological spectrum and is supported by the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor.
I thank my colleagues for their support of this important legislation. The Second Chance Act takes an important step toward closing the revolving doors of our prisons and keeping our neighborhoods and communities safe.
I yield the floor.
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