First Step Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today is a good day for representative government, it is a good day for the taxpayers, and it is a good day for safe streets and strong families. It is also a good day to emphasize that many times Congress acts in a bipartisan way, and probably not enough so we get credit for it. But last night, one of these bipartisan pieces of legislation passed by a vote of 87 to 12. That happened when the Senate adopted the FIRST STEP Act.

Today, the House is expected to send it to the President, who is waiting with a pen in hand to enact once-in-a-generation criminal justice reform. I am confident that the President is ready to do that because I attended the news conference about 5 weeks ago when he endorsed this legislation.

The FIRST STEP Act will help keep our streets safe, and it offers a fresh start to those who put in the work when they were in prison to get right with the law while paying their debt to society. It also addresses unfairness in prison sentencing and revises policies that have led to overcrowded prisons and, of course, ballooning taxpayer expenses.

Several decades ago, Congress passed well-intentioned laws imposing harsh mandatory sentences to stop the flow of drugs into our communities, and it happened that I voted for those laws, but they have also had some unintended consequences. Our prison population has exploded, and the taxpayers' burden to house inmates has followed suit. Today, taxpayers pay more than $7 billion a year on our Federal prison population; however, despite that high cost, nearly half the inmates released today are rearrested.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for the last 38 years, I consider myself--then and now--a law-and-order Republican. I am also a taxpayer watchdog, and I believe in the redemptive power of rehabilitation. So in 2015, I began to take a closer look at our prison and sentencing laws. We needed to make the system work better for the taxpayers, help law enforcement fight crime, and put a stopper in the revolving prison door. I was led to that effort by the efforts of Senator Lee and Senator Durbin, who had been working on similar legislation for probably 3 to 4 years before my entry into this debate.

Several States across the country have developed these education, treatment, and training programs. The result has been a significant decline in recidivism. This means fewer crimes, fewer victims, and fewer tax dollars spent housing inmates.

The FIRST STEP Act is carefully crafted to provide opportunities at redemption for low-risk inmates, while ensuring that dangerous and career criminals stay behind bars. It does this through a multilayer system that filters out dangerous criminals and those likely to commit new crimes.

The bill rewards those who take personal responsibility for their mistakes and want to put in the time and will put in the time and effort to turn their lives around.

It improves fairness in sentencing while preserving important law enforcement tools.

It reduces some mandatory minimum sentences, but it also expands their application to include violent felons.

It grants judges additional discretion to sentence low-level, nonviolent offenders to less lengthy sentences as long as they fully cooperate with law enforcement. Finally, it eliminates the disparity in sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses, which disproportionately impacts communities of color.

Passing these reforms has been a team effort years in the making. It couldn't have been done without the stalwart commitment by a somewhat unlikely cadre of colleagues and advocates. We have had to compromise to make this possible, to seek to understand the other's points of view. In so doing, I think we made the bill better, and we accomplished something of historic significance that will reduce crime, make our system more just, and improve lives for generations to come.

Senators Durbin and Lee, as I previously stated, were instrumental in this effort. Their interest in criminal justice reform dates back beyond my getting involved in it in 2014. The exact date, I don't know, but probably after Senators Lee and Durbin joined hands, probably soon after Senator Lee came to the Senate. Their efforts inspired the Senate to take a fresh look at our sentencing and prison laws.

Senator Graham, the incoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Cornyn, and Senator Whitehouse have also been with us since the very beginning of this effort.

Senators Booker and Scott both share a passion for criminal justice reform and have been vocal advocates, shining a light on the shortcomings and societal impact of our current system.

Credit is also due to our House colleagues--Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Nadler, and Congressmen Collins and Jeffries, who introduced the FIRST STEP Act in the House. And thanks to Speaker Ryan for his support and pledge to bring this to the House floor so quickly.

At every step along the way, we have stuck together. We pitched this bill to our colleagues and made changes based on their suggestions. We also relied on input and expertise from a variety of groups from across the political spectrum. In the end, this campaign earned the support of several top law enforcement and tough-on-crime champions, such as President Trump.

I think it is important to acknowledge the President's leadership on this issue. When he got involved, he closed the deal, and we got this done. He was helped in that effort by Jared Kushner. Early in President Trump's administration, I happened to be in the Oval Office of the new President. Jared Kushner was there, and we discussed taking up criminal justice reform. I just asked him if he was interested in it. I wanted to give him a phone call, so we had that phone call. He took the issue and ran with it and helped find a way forward to accomplish something previous administrations had tried and failed to do. Brooke Rollins and Ja'Ron Smith at the White House were also instrumental in this effort, working with Jared Kushner.

I would also like to thank the majority leader for staying true to his word and bringing this bill to the floor when we demonstrated the support for our effort that he demanded. In the end, I appreciated his vote for this bill.

Thanks also is due to the Senate floor staff on both sides of the aisle who helped us successfully navigate the bill to final passage.

I want to thank my Senate staff, who helped make this possible. Bipartisan compromise is not for the faint of heart, and they have stayed true to the commitment that Senator Durbin and I made to each other to move forward step-by-step in complete agreement about the path we should take and the path we had to take.

I would like to thank my Judiciary Committee staff director, Kolan Davis. Kolan's steady hand and sound judgment improves everything he is involved in. I value his counsel today, just as I have for the last 33 years.

By my side today is Aaron Cummings, my chief Constitution counsel and crime counsel. He led the effort to negotiate this bipartisan deal in my office and worked hard to see it through and to organize a vast coalition of support. Of course, he also worked closely with other committee staff members in that direction.

I would also like to thank Brian Simonsen for his diligent work on this important bill.

Our Department of Justice detailees to the Judiciary Committee, Tom Sullivan and Erin Creegan, provided very good technical advice.

My sincere thanks also goes to my talented communications team-- Taylor Foy, Judiciary Committee communications director, and George Hartmann, Judiciary Committee press secretary, as well as Michael Zona--for their dedication to this effort and their successful campaign to educate and persuade so many to support this bill.

I am also thankful for my personal office staff, led by my chief of staff, Jill Kozeny. Jill has been my trusted adviser for over 30 years. She is leaving my staff, and I will be sad to see her go. She has been an exceptional leader, solving problems that I didn't even know I had, and she has done it all with matchless grace and what I like to call Iowa nice.

I am also grateful to Jennifer Heins, who keeps me on track and provides sound strategic advice.

Their contributions and those of every staffer who was part of this effort have been invaluable.

I would like to thank Senator Durbin's staff, particularly his chief counsel, Joe Zogby, and his counsel, Rachel Rossi. Working with my staff, the White House, and others, they must have helped us close the deal more than a dozen times. That is an example--maybe it is 10 times; maybe it is 20 times. But closing deals many times is what it takes to get to the bipartisanship that it took to get 87 votes on this bill. Of course, in the end, their dedication--and that includes creativity and every effort they could put forth--got the job done.

I want to give particular thanks to the law enforcement groups whose support and input were key to the bill's success, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National District Attorneys Association, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and Law Enforcement Leaders.

I am getting to the end. I would also like to thank the groups that made this effort possible. A diverse group and broad coalition of other groups, from the ACLU to the American Conservative Union, supported this bill. I can't list all the groups that offered their key support, but they include FreedomWorks, Justice Action Network, Americans for Tax Reform, Heritage Action, the Due Process Institute, Faith & Freedom Coalition, R Street, Right on Crime, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Prison Fellowship, and members of the Interfaith Criminal Justice Coalition.

International Association of Chiefs of Police; International Union of Police Association AFL-CIO; National District Attorney's Association; Sixty Sheriff's Letter--Led by Sheriff Hodgson of Bristol County, Maryland; National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration; Jackson County Sheriff's Department, Kansas; Rockingham County Sheriff's Department, North Carolina; Families Against Mandatory Minimums; Center for American Progress; Prison Fellowship; #cut50; Latinos for Tennessee; Bernice King; 2000 Faith Leaders Letter of Support; Brother Franklin Graham.

Pastor Paula White; Pastor Jentezen Franklin; Pastor Jack Graham; Alveda King; Pastor Darrell Scott; Rabbinical Alliance of America; Skvere Community; Young Israel; Satmar Community; Catholic Charities USA; The Kairos Group; Move the Earth Ministries; Aleph Institute; Christian Community Development Association; City Gate Network.

Council for Christian Colleges & Universities; National Association of Evangelicals; National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Kingdom Mission Society; National Latino Evangelical Coalition; Louisiana Family Forum; Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; American Bus Association; American Clergy Network; American Correctional Association; American Jail Association; Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; Association of State Corrections Administrators; Baltimore Ravens; Bread for the World.

CAN-DO Foundation; Circle of Protection; Citygate Network; Douglass Leadership Institute; Due Process Institute; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Flikshop; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Institute for Prison Ministries; International Community of Corrections Associations; Fairness, Dignity & Respect for Crime Victims & Survivors; Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice; Just Detention; Justice and Serious Mental Illness; Lifted from the Rut.

National Conference of State Legislatures; National Criminal Justice Association; National Governors Association; National Incarceration Association; Progressive National Baptist Convention; Returning Home; Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference; Society of St. Vincent de Paul; Sojourners; The Episcopal Church; The Sentencing Project; U.S. Conference of Mayors; U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Valor Village Foundation; Wesleyan Church. US Chamber of Commerce; Business Roundtable; National Retail Federation; The Associated General Contractors of America; Associated Builders & Contractors; National Association of Homebuilders; National Electrical Contractors Association; Job Creators Network; National Restaurant Association; Asian American Hotel Owners Association; Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council; National Association of Broadcasters; Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association; National Grocers Association; International Franchise Association; U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce. Justice Action Network; (Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers; National Association of Home Builders; U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Arizona Free Enterprise Club; Connie Wilhelm, CEO, Home Builders Association of Central Arizona; Don Finkel, CEO, American OEM; Gene Barr, President & CEO, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry; Guy Ciarrocchi, President, Chester County Chamber; Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program; Kansas Chamber of Commerce; Kevin Schmidt, Executive Director, Ohio Cast Metals Association; Lincoln Trail Home Builders; Louisiana Association of Business and Industry; Matt Smith, President, Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce; Michigan Association for Community Corrections Advancement; Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce); National Football League; FOX; US Travel Association; Realtors; The GEO Group, Inc.; National Association of Manufacturers.

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Mr. GRASSLEY. This was a combined effort, one on a scale not often seen in Washington these days. I am grateful for everyone's work to bring about these historic reforms. Together, we have taken steps to reduce crime and recidivism, to strengthen faith and fairness in the criminal justice system, and to signal to those willing to make amends that redemption is within their reach. Together, we have taken an important step to live up to the commitment we make every time we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States: to provide liberty and justice for all.

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I thank Senator Durbin for his kind remarks--more importantly, for 3 years of working together on this legislation, and it is great that it paid off.

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