JUSTICE ACTION NETWORK APPLAUDS HOUSE PASSAGE OF BIPARTISAN EMERGENCY JUSTICE REFORMS IN COVID-19 RELIEF PACKAGE
Bill Includes Key Life-Saving, Job-Saving Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Measures
Justice Action Network’s Holly Harris: “Congressional Democrats and the Trump White House are committed to getting critical dollars to local jurisdictions that are burning the candle at both ends, struggling to balance public health and public safety. All that remains is for Senate Republicans to come to the table, put partisanship aside and deliver for their communities back home.”
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Democratic lawmakers passed a COVID-19 relief package, including several emergency criminal justice reform measures that have garnered bipartisan support.
Please credit the following statement to Holly Harris, President and Executive Director of Justice Action Network:
“We applaud Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin for continuing to press for an emergency relief deal, and their willingness to work across the aisle during such a turbulent political climate proves leaders can still put people above partisanship. Congressional Democrats and the Trump White House are committed to getting critical dollars to local jurisdictions that are burning the candle at both ends, struggling to balance public health and public safety. All that remains is for Senate Republicans to come to the table, and we are still hopeful they will act in the best interests of their constituents, and deliver for this communities back home.
“The American people have waited nearly 200 days since the last federal COVID-19 relief bill passed. Since then, hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people and correctional and law enforcement officers have been infected with COVID-19, and nearly 1,300 have died. These aren’t just statistics – these are human lives. Those in the criminal justice system, who have been on the front lines of the pandemic, can’t afford to wait any longer.”
The HEROES Act includes reforms that address these critical areas. Justice Action Network is calling on Senate Republicans and the White House to ensure they are included in any final relief package:
Local Justice System Funding – Critical support is needed for state and local law enforcement leaders doing it right – safely reducing incarceration rates to balance public health and public safety; these emergency resources could be used for addiction and mental health treatment; improved access to technology for justice system first responders; staffing deficiencies due to sickness and quarantining; and increased medical care and testing. The provision is a plea from state and local justice officials in more than a dozen states serving on the COVID-19 Emergency Justice Taskforce.
Paycheck Protection Program Second Chance Act – Introduced by Senators Portman, Cardin, Booker and Lankford, the bipartisan proposal would remove barriers to PPP for business owners with criminal records, roughly a third of all small business owners who turned away from crime to create jobs and contribute to society. Only one-in-four Americans supported a prohibition on small business emergency funding for people with criminal records.
Elderly Release – Introduced by the bipartisan duo of Senators Durbin and Grassley, this proposal would help protect seniors – the fastest growing portion of the prison population and most vulnerable to COVID-19. We know COVID-19 hits the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions the hardest, and measures like social distancing are impossible in prisons. Transferring seniors who do not pose a risk to public safety into home detention must be a top priority for Congress – or the disease will continue to spread throughout prison facilities and into surrounding communities, and more lives will be lost. This policy was supported by 69% of Americans, with majority support from Republicans, Independents, and Democrats.
These criminal justice reforms have garnered strong bipartisan support from organizations across the political spectrum, including Arnold Ventures, FAMM, R Street Institute, Prison Fellowship, FreedomWorks, and ACLU.