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FreedomWorks is proud to honor Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) as our member of the month for May 2019. Rep. Sensenbrenner represents the people of Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District, which encompasses part of the state’s southeastern corner and includes many of the Milwaukee suburbs.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) proposed revision to the Declaration for Federal Employment form that would force prospective employees to disclose whether they were placed in a diversion program, Jason Pye, FreedomWorks’ Vice President of Legislative Affairs, commented:
The White House held an event last week to kick off April as Second Chance Month. Of course, this means asking our country to embrace the idea that we should look at those currently or formerly incarcerated who have made mistakes -- even grave ones -- and realize that we will all be better off to give these individuals a second chance at a productive life.
On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) put out a release outlining its intentions for and the status of the implementation of the First Step Act. Signed into law on December 21, 2018, the First Step Act is a comprehensive overhaul of the federal prison system, run by the Bureau of Prisons. Certainly, it is encouraging to see the department taking affirmative steps toward implementing the law.
Chatter around criminal justice reform opportunities continues loudly following the successful bipartisan federal First Step Act. States and localities alike are taking hard looks at ways to build common sense policies that further reform efforts around the country. It’s a rare area where bipartisanship exists.
On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and representative and ask them to support the Fair Chance Act, H.R. 1076 and S. 387. Introduced by Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), this bipartisan legislation would aid prisoner reentry into society and lower crime rates, by delaying inquiries into criminal history for federal job and federally contracted applications until the conditional offer stage.
Following the enactment of transformative federal criminal justice reform legislation, the First Step Act, Congress and states have the green light to continue -- or, in many cases, start -- down this path. By bringing the tough-on-crime mentality in alignment with smart-on-crime approaches, state and federal justice systems can enhance public safety and fairness by reducing crime while simultaneously reducing prison populations nationwide.
FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for January 2019 is First Step Act, S. 756, which became law on December 21, 2018. It is a fantastic victory for society, policy, and fairness across the spectrum, giving momentum to further reforms in the future at both the state and federal level.
On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote YES on the First Step Act, S. 756. The legislation would reform our federal prison system to ensure that inmates have the programming they need to return to society as law-abiding citizens and would also tailor some of the most egregious sentencing laws to refocus limited resources on the most dangerous offenders.
As noted on our key vote alert for the First Step Act, FreedomWorks reserved the right to score any related votes including amendments. Accordingly, we will be scoring on our 2018 Congressional Scorecard vote(s) on the Cotton-Kennedy amendment to the legislation, which includes three divisions of deceitfully crafted poison pills each intended to harm the legislation and upset the supermajority support for criminal justice reform in the Senate.