Earlier this week, through a court order, the United States government demanded that Apple Inc. help the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) develop software in an effort to break the encryption on an iPhone that was recovered after the recent shootings in San Bernardino, California. The government cited the “All Writs Act,” enacted in 1789, to demand that the technology company create a new ver... Read more »
H.R. 759, the "Recidivism Risk Reduction Act," is part of the House Judiciary Committee’s criminal justice reform initiative The House Judiciary Committee today approved by voice vote the Corrections and Recidivism Reduction Act (H.R. 759) to reform the federal prison system, strengthen public safety, enhance prison security, provide inmates the help they need, and protect civil liberties. This le... Read more »
“I commend the Chairman for bringing H.R. 759 before the Committee today. It is critical, as part of the Committee’s efforts to reform our criminal justice system, that we take action to improve our federal prisons, and I am pleased that today we will consider a bipartisan, substitute amendment to this bill which will establish a better way of operating our prisons. “The massive growth of our pris... Read more »
Thursday, Feburary 11 10:00 a.m. Full Committee Markup (click here to watch) 2141 Rayburn House Office Building H.R. 2947, the “Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act of 2015”: This bill is a product of the Judiciary Committee’s long-standing oversight of U.S. bankruptcy laws as well as the Committee’s recent examination into improving the bankruptcy laws for the resolution of financial institutions... Read more »
Yesterday, President Obama announced that U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Department of Justice, in response to the President’s directive in July, has issued a report concerning the use of solitary confinement in America. The report includes recommended strategies for prisons at the federal, state, and local levels to pursue, safely reduce solitary confinement, and details changes that... Read more »
“H.R. 1854, the ‘Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015,’ reauthorizes funding for and updates the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004. “I support this bipartisan bill for several reasons. “To begin with, the legislation recognizes the fact that approximately 45% of federal inmates, 56% of state inmates, and 64% of jail inmates display symptoms of mental he... Read more »
“H.R. 4240, the ‘No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act,’ is a common sense measure that supports the Terrorist Screening Database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and, in doing so, will aid in our efforts to combat terrorism and keep our Nation safe. “Since 2003, the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center helps to identify those individuals known or reasonably suspected of being involved in ... Read more »
“As a longtime champion of reentry and criminal justice reform, I am encouraged by the Committee’s continued bipartisan progress in moving reform legislation and today’s markup of H.R., 3406, the ‘Second Chance Reauthorization Act.’ With its enactment under President George W. Bush in 2008, the Second Chance Act was Congress’ first major bipartisan step toward addressing the Nation’s exploding pri... Read more »
The Administration has released a description of the Executive Actions President Obama will be taking to help reduce gun violence in America. Included in these initiatives are steps to expand and improve the conduct of background checks for prospective firearms purchasers, provide more resources for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosiv... Read more »
On a bipartisan basis, the House Judiciary Committee has been working on several bills to improve our broken criminal justice system. These bills will insure that our federal criminal laws and regulations are effectively and appropriately enforced, operate with fairness and compassion, protect individual freedom, safeguard civil liberties, work as efficiently as possible, do not impede state effor... Read more »
