AFP Issues Key Vote Alert in Support of the FIRST STEP Act

May 21, 2018 by AFP

Arlington, VA – Americans for Prosperity, the nation’s leading grassroots advocacy organization, sent Key Vote letters to members of the House of Representatives today encouraging them to support legislation that the group will factor into their grades in the 2018 AFP Scorecard. This week, the House of Representatives will be taking up H.R. 5682, which will make Americans safer by providing job training and education to prisoners in order to improve their reentry into society.

The FIRST STEP Act uses evidence-based risk and needs assessment tools that will be implemented in the criminal justice system to train and educate incarcerated individuals to successfully reenter our communities following their release from prison.

The bill is part of a bipartisan wave of legislation in the states that has seen a decrease in both crime rates and incarceration, lowered the likelihood that formerly incarcerated individuals will re-offend, and saved billions of taxpayer dollars. Americans for Prosperity urges lawmakers to pass this bill without delay.

READ THE KEY VOTE ALERT HERE

Americans for Prosperity Chief Government Affairs Officer Brent Gardner issued the following statement:

“The FIRST STEP Act will help ensure that incarcerated individuals are rehabilitated and return to society as productive, law-abiding individuals following their release from prison. This legislation will reduce crime and improve public safety, save billions in taxpayer dollars and provide second chance opportunities for people who have paid their debt to society. Americans for Prosperity applauds the overwhelming bipartisan majority that voted to advance the FIRST STEP Act out of committee, and we urge members of the House of Representatives to pass this bill as soon as possible.”

Background:

The FIRST STEP Act would create new, evidence-based risk and needs assessment tools to be used periodically to prepare incarcerated individuals to reenter their communities as law-abiding individuals. The bill is consistent with smart on crime legislation in the states that has produced lower crime rates, lower incarceration rates, reductions in recidivism and billions of taxpayer dollars in savings.

Learn More:

Mark Holden in National Review: “When Prisoners Reenter Society” (03/20/18)

Congress Takes Significant FIRST STEP Toward Safer Communities and Second Chances By Advancing Prison Reform Bill (05/10/18)

Conservatives urge House Judiciary Committee to take up prison reform legislation (04/23/18)

For further information or to set up an interview, please send an email to GBraud@afphq.org.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 36 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

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