Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Act of 2020

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3312, the Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Act of 2020. I was proud to introduce this House companion bill, this bipartisan piece of legislation, with Representatives Rutherford, Trone, Armstrong, Dean, and Scanlon.

The Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Act authorizes grants for State and local correctional facilities to partner with community mental health and behavioral health providers to provide clinical services for people with serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

When I served as a district judge in southwestern Pennsylvania, many of those who came before my bench were suffering from untreated and undiagnosed mental illness. In fact, according to a 2012 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey, approximately 1 in 7 State and Federal prisoners, and 1 in 4 jail inmates met the threshold for serious psychological distress in the 30 days prior.

S. 3312 ensures that we provide these individuals with treatment, suicide prevention, and tools for long-term recovery upon release from a correctional facility. By ensuring continuity of mental healthcare, we can facilitate successful reentry, which is critical to reducing recidivism; in turn, improving public safety and saving taxpayer dollars.

I want to, again, thank my fellow sponsors in the House, as well as Senators Cornyn and Blumenthal, for prioritizing this important issue.

I am proud to support this bipartisan, bicameral bill that will give law enforcement the tools that they need to keep our communities safe, while also ending the revolving door between prison and the streets.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 3312, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, in closing, once again, I would like to urge my colleagues to support S. 3312, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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