Washington Weekly RoundupApril 2, 2007
H.R. 1593/S. 1060, The Second Chance Act Reentry Legislation Reintroduced in the House and the Senate; Full House Judiciary Committee Approves the Legislation, Hearing Emphasizes Importance of Employment and Drug Treatment
The Second Chance Act, legislation that seeks to help States and localities better address the needs of individuals reentering the community from the criminal justice system, was reintroduced in the House of Representatives on March 20th and in the Senate on March 30th. Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) and 14 additional bi-partisan Members introduced the House version of the Second Chance Act, H.R. 1593, and Senators Joe Biden (D-DE), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced S. 1060, the Senate version of the Second Chance Act.
On March 28th, the full House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1593 following a mark-up (review) of the legislation led by Second Chance Act sponsors Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX). During the mark-up session, Congressman Louie Goehmert (R-TX) offered a number of amendments that would have removed various provisions of the Second Chance Act; however, none of these amendments was approved. In addition, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, led by two additional co-sponsors of the Second Chance Act, Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Randy Forbes (R-VA), approved the legislation prior to full Committee review on March 27th. Since the House Judiciary Committee has approved the Second Chance Act, the legislation can now be considered by the full House.
