TOP PROGRESSIVE GROUPS CALL ON CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP TO ENSURE PASSAGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS IN COVID RELIEF BILL

Current Legislation Includes Key Life-Saving, Job-Saving Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Measures

Justice Action Network’s Inimai Chettiar: “We urge lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to put people before politics and ensure we give as much help and attention to all Americans as we give to those in the Beltway.” 

(Washington, D.C.) – After numerous twists and turns over the past week, COVID-19 relief package discussions have resumed in earnest, with President Trump, White House officials and House Democrats publicly moving ahead to seek a much-needed deal. Now influential progressive groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, #Cut50, the NAACP, the Sentencing Project and the bipartisan Justice Action Network, are joining the chorus in support of bipartisan criminal justice reforms under consideration, and calling on Congressional leaders to pass a bill that includes emergency criminal justice reform measures.  

With renewed hope for a deal, Inimai Chettiar, Federal Director of Justice Action Network, issued the following statement:

“While much of our attention has been focused on recent high-profile diagnoses, the American people are still struggling and are in desperate need of relief. As Congress negotiates the next COVID-19 relief package, no bill will be complete without the emergency criminal and racial justice reforms that the American people are calling out for. We call on Democratic and Republican leaders to ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to fight this pandemic, including those in our jails and prisons, where tens of thousands of people have fallen ill or died from COVID-19. These life-saving, job-saving provisions, which were included in the House’s revised Heroes Act have strong bipartisan support, and will protect public health and public safety while moving racial justice forward. We urge lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to put partisanship aside and ensure that we give as much help and attention to all Americans as we do to those inside the Beltway.” 

LETTER AVAILABLE HERE.

The HEROES Act includes reforms that address these critical areas. Today, these groups call on Congressional leadership to ensure these provisions are must-haves in a 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 (R), Cardin (D), Booker (D) and Lankford (R), 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 (D) and Grassley (R)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 also garnered strong bipartisan support from organizations across the political spectrum, including Arnold Ventures,  Prison Fellowship, as well as this additional letter of support sent Friday from the American Conservative Union, FAMM, FreedomWorks, Right on Crime, R Street Institute and the bipartisan Justice Action Network.

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