Presidential Candidate Questionnaire on Criminal Justice Reform

Mayor Michael Bloomberg

1. Candidates unanimously agree on the need for justice reform. What is your primary reason for supporting reduction of the prison population? (Please select one)

a. To rectify racial injustices that disproportionately affect people of color.

b. To make our justice system more cost effective and save taxpayer dollars.

c. To provide individuals who have made mistakes with a second chance to live law- abiding lives.

d. To end unfair practices that negatively impact individuals in lower socio- economic brackets.

e. To improve the safety of our communities and lower the crime rate.

f. Other. __________________________

2.  Candidates have put forward lengthy criminal justice reform plans with dozens of proposed reforms. What is the first criminal justice reform bill that you would put before Congress as President?(Please select one)

a. A bill to remove or reduce mandatory minimum sentences.

b. A bill to provide financial incentives to states that reduce their prison populations.

c. A bill to reform the probation system or reinstate parole in the federal system.

d. A bill to reform the bail system.

e. A bill to reform drug laws.

f. A bill to allow judges more flexibility in sentencing defendants to alternatives to prison.

g. A bill to end private prisons.

h. A bill to support police or prosecutorial reform.

i. A bill to increase opportunities for early release or remove barriers to successful reentry.

j. Other. __________________________

Among the several core priorities you name here—all of which I support—this option may have the most far-reaching impact, since 90% of the criminal justice system is controlled by state and local governments.

3. What is the first executive action that you would take as President on criminal justice reform? (Please select one)

a. Reform or expand the clemency process.

b. Repeal harsh prosecutorial directives of the Justice Department.

c. End the federal use of private prisons.

d. Establish a criminal justice reform commission.

e. Establish an oversight division for the Bureau of Prisons.

f. Fill vacancies in the United States Sentencing Commission.

g. Other. __________________________

As president, I would take all of the above executive actions—each of which is important to reform the system. First among them would be undoing the directive from Trump’s Department of Justice that instructs US Attorneys to seek the harshest possible charges and sentences for offenders—a directive that is directly contrary to my goal of reducing harsh and unnecessary sentences.

4. What is the biggest step that you would take to combat systemic racial bias in the justice system? (Please select one)

a. Remove sentencing disparities for drug-related sentences.

b. Implement reforms to reduce the overall prison population.

c. End racial profiling across the justice system.

d. Divert low-level offenders away from jail and prison time.

e. Reform federal prosecutorial practices, or support local police reform.

f. End the school-to-prison pipeline.

g. Other. __________________________

I would take all of the steps above as president, each of which is necessary to remove sustained racial injustice in our system. But one of the overall goals is to reduce the overall prison population—and many of the other steps (diversion, reducing excessive sentencing, reforming prosecution) are components of that overall goal to reduce incarceration.

5. It is critical that the President and Congress continue to act on criminal justice reform to establish national leadership on the issue. However, 86 percent of the national prison population is under the control of states. Most states have already acted to reduce their populations. What is the first step you would take to further incentivize states to reform their justice systems? (Please select one)

a. Pass the Second Chance Reauthorization Act.

b. Provide incentive funding to states that reduce their prison populations, while keeping down crime.

c. Provide funding for states that reform their bail systems.

d. Provide funding for local diversion programs and mental health and substance abuse treatment.

e. Increase funding for local public defense systems.

f. Other. __________________________

I support all of the above steps, and intend to take all of them. I would create a new reform hub at the Department of Justice and fund $22.5 bilion over 10 years for that new office to power reform in the states. This would include re-entry services funding like the funding in the Second Chance Reauthorization Act, funding for states to replace cash bail with release programs, diversion efforts, and $2.5 billion over 10 years for public defenders. The overall goal—and the one I’ve highlighted here—is funding to the states (including withholding of existing funding) to incentivize reducing their prison populations by half.

6. What is the first policy you would implement as President to increase successful reentry and reduce recidivism? (Please select one)

a. Increase access to higher education.

b. Increase employment opportunities.

c. Reform probation and parole laws.

d. Expand expungement and record sealing opportunities.

e. Provide greater drug abuse and mental health treatment.

f. Other. __________________________

I support and intend to implement all of the above strategies. In fact, as mayor I founded new employment programs—like the Transitional Jobs Program—and new housing programs— like the Frequent Users Services Enhancement Program. I also overhauled the probation and parole system to focus on moving people into jobs and housing, and out of the supervision system. My first priority among these would be to increase employment. This would start with vocational training in prison, with new funding to support pre-discharge job placement for people re-entering society. And it woud include funding a work program to help connect the formerly incarcerated with sustainable employment. I would will promote the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Federal Bonding Program that incentivize employers and remove the current limitations in order to provide support for several years after re-entry.

7. A November 2018 Washington Post investigation found large scale obstruction by the Justice Department in implementing the First Step Act. As President, how will you ensure that the First Step Act is faithfully and fully implemented? (Please select one)

a. Ensure the Bureau of Prisons receives requisite funding to implement and expand the recidivism-reduction programming required by the Act.

b. Hold the Justice Department accountable to abide by the law’s sentencing reforms and allowing the resentencing of eligible individuals.

c. Improve the system in which federal prisoners are assessed for risk and needs before placed into recidivism-reduction programming.

d. Other. __________________________

I support all of the above actions, and would take them all. The risk assessment tools are not being faithfully implemented and need to be overhauled in order for the First Step Act to serve its purpose of moving people out of the system—and it is the piece I would address first.

8. Of the current bipartisan bills pending in Congress, which is your priority to see passed this year? (Please select one)

a. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, which would delay when federal employers may inquire about criminal history until later in the hiring process.

b. The Clean Slate Act, which would provide automatic record sealing for nonviolent, drug-related offenses for individuals who have remained crime free.

c. The REAL Act, which would remove the ban on incarcerated individuals accessing Pell Grants for higher education.

d. The Smarter Sentencing Act, which would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession offenses.

e. The Justice Safety Valve Act, which would allow judges to depart from harsh mandatory minimum sentences.

f. Other. __________________________

I support and have committed to take all of the above actions—increasing “ban the box” programming to prevent criminal history from impacting hiring, sealing records for nonviolent drug offenders who do not pose a danger, and eliminating all mandatory minimum sentences. My priority among these is to ensure that people in prison have access to Pell Grants, so they can start re-entry immediately and have access to opportunity as soon as they return from prison.

9. What is your view on whether and when voting rights should be restored to individuals with criminal convictions? (Please select one)

a. Voting rights should not be revoked for criminal convictions.

b. Voting rights should be automatically restored for individuals upon release from prison.

c. Voting rights should be automatically restored for individuals convicted of nonviolent or drug offenses upon release from prison.

d. Voting rights should be automatically restored for individuals after they have completed all terms of their sentence, including parole and probation.

e. Voting rights should not be restored for individuals who have had them revoked.

f. Other. __________________________

10. Please provide one example of a bipartisan effort you have engaged in to advance justice reform. (Please limit to 250 words)

My Close to Home Initiative is one of the proudest accomplishments in my time as mayor. With Close to Home, we took several hundred New York City kids out of distant upstate prisons and brought them back to New York City. We were able to put the vast majority of the kids back into their homes – and the roughly 100 kids who could not be back with their families were placed in group homes in their communities – which were mostly not even locked facilities. This was a massive improvement to the juvenile justice system, and it was life-changing for many young New Yorkers. The Initiative was authorized by state legislation that I spearheaded—and which passed through a Republican Senate and a Democratic Assembly.

11. How would you work to build a bipartisan consensus to move the broadest possible justice reform package across the finish line? (Please limit to 250 words)

I believe strongly that there is a bipartisan consensus for action on this issue. The First Step Act was a good show of faith, with many Republicans voting for reform. Many state legislatures dominated by Republicans have taken impressive action in recent years to improve public defense – including with so-called “open-file” laws – and have worked to reduce probation revocation and technical violations of probation and parole. I am confident we can build a coalition in Congress to pass enacting legislation and fund $22.5 billion over 10 years to power state reforms – and approve withholding of existing funds from states that fail to reform. We will then use the new reform hub at DOJ to incentivize states in some cases and press others to take bipartisan action with funding incentives, the specter of civil rights investigations, and the power of the presidential pulpit to expose injustice around the country.