JUSTICE ACTION NETWORK RESPONDS TO NEW $2.2 TRILLION COVID-19 RELIEF PACKAGE

Justice Action Network’s Holly Harris: “Congressional Democrats and the Trump White House are in agreement that a more robust federal response is needed, and it’s needed now. It’s time for Senate Republicans to step up.” 

(Washington, D.C.) – Yesterday, Democratic lawmakers released a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief package, including several critical criminal justice measures that have garnered bipartisan support. Reacting to this package, Justice Action Network, the country’s largest bipartisan criminal justice reform advocacy organization, urged lawmakers to come together to pass a COVID-19 relief package including emergency criminal justice provisions. 

Please credit the following statement to Holly Harris, President and Executive Director of Justice Action Network

“With the first Presidential debate tonight, and only 35 days until the election, you might not expect to see bipartisan consensus, but Congressional Democrats and the Trump White House are in agreement—a more robust COVID-19 relief bill is needed, and it’s needed now. It’s time for Senate Republicans to step up, follow the advice of President Trump, and ‘go for much higher numbers’ than they advocated for in this summer’s stalled negotiations. With Donald Trump and House Democrats in agreement, Senate Republicans are the only remaining holdouts.

“The American people have waited long enough for relief, and the people on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in the criminal justice system can’t afford to wait any longer. More than 218,000 incarcerated people and corrections officers have been infected with COVID-19 and at least 1,265 have died. And COVID-19 is the leading cause of duty-related deaths for police officers this year, higher than all other causes combined. 

“Red states like Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Arkansas have implemented emergency reforms that safely reduced incarceration and the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks, while maintaining public safety. Senate Republicans need only look to their own backyards for emergency criminal justice responses that worked.

“We are grateful for the champions in the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle who are demanding emergency criminal justice legislation: CBC Chair Karen Bass, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and House Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries are spearheading funding for local justice systems balancing public health and public safety; Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin and Chairman Chuck Grassley are fighting for relief for vulnerable sick and elderly in our system; and Senators Rob Portman, Ben Cardin, Cory Booker, and James Lankford are working across the aisle to extend Small Business Administration relief funds to people with records, roughly a third of all small business owners.”

The newly-released Democratic proposal 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 jurisdictions that safely reduce incarceration rates, which 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 Grassleythis 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.   

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