JUSTICE ACTION NETWORK STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN

PACKAGE INCLUDES $1.8 BILLION TO PREVENT SPREAD OF COVID-19 IN  STATE AND LOCAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS, RECOMMENDED BY JAN’S COVID-19 EMERGENCY TASK FORCE

HOLLY HARRIS: “People in the justice system have been on the frontlines fighting this pandemic, and for nearly a year, they’ve been fighting it alone.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan, which includes $1.8 Billion in funding for state and local justice systems to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Justice Action Network led the fight to include targeted justice system funding in COVID-19 relief measures, based on recommendations from a bipartisan COVID-19 Emergency Task Force established in March 2020.

In response to today’s vote, Holly Harris, President and Executive Director of Justice Action Network, the country’s largest bipartisan criminal justice reform organization, issued the following statement:

“Justice system first responders are on the frontlines of this pandemic, and for nearly a year, they’ve been burning the candle at both ends, protecting public health and public safety and fighting the spread of COVID-19 in our jails and prisons. Last spring, our bipartisan COVID-19 Emergency Task Force, made up of judges, sheriffs, public defenders, prosecutors, and corrections officials from across the country, made it clear that they needed targeted federal resources to protect both public safety and public health. Since then, they’ve stretched themselves and their budgets to the breaking point, waiting for relief that never came. With today’s vote, they will finally get the help they need.  

“This critical funding will support efforts to prevent the spread of infection, safely reduce incarceration, support reentry programs, and protect the health of law enforcement, incarcerated people, their families, and their surrounding communities. It will save lives and keep our communities safer.

“We are grateful to the members of Congress who advocated for this funding, particularly Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Durbin, and leaders on the right and left who worked together to deliver this much-needed relief. We hope the Biden Administration will prioritize the allocation of these funds—people on the frontlines of this crisis have waited long enough.”

Justice Action Network’s COVID-19 Emergency Task Force included prosecutors, law enforcement, public defenders, corrections officials, judges, and elected officials from 15 states. Their report called on Congress to provide funding to:

• Safely reduce prison and jail overcrowding to stop the spread of COVID-19;

• Preserve and expand alternatives to incarceration, addiction and mental health treatment, and reentry programs;

• Improve medical care, testing, and treatment; bolster access to technology for essential services and data collection to better prepare for future emergencies; and

• Expand and encourage second chance workforce participation.

All of these priorities are eligible for funding through the American Rescue Plan. This $1.8 billion appropriation will be administered the Department of Health and Human Services, and routed through state and local health departments.

More information about the Task Force, including their full report and background on members, is available at www.JusticeActionNetwork.org/task-force