Tubbs Jones Attends Signing of Second Chance Act

WASHINGTON, April 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones joined Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and other House and Senate colleagues at the White House for signing of the bi-partisan Second Chance Act into law by President George W. Bush.

"I have been deeply involved in prisoner reentry issues for over 25 years since my days as a judge and county prosecutor in Cleveland, Ohio prior to serving in Congress," said Rep. Tubbs Jones. "As an original co-sponsor of this legislation, I am extremely pleased to finally see Congress enact meaningful reentry legislation. I'd like to thank my colleagues in both the House and Senate, particularly Rep. Danny Davis who I have worked with for four years on passing this important piece of legislation along with House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Rep. Bobby Scott and all of my colleagues who helped push this legislation. I want to particularly thank former Congressman Rob Portman for his early leadership on this issue.

"Rep. Tubbs Jones was an original cosponsor of the Second Chance Act and a crucial player in moving this important legislation forward," said former Congressman Rob Portman. "Her passion for the issue of community reentry made the bill better and her persistence paid off this week when a good idea became a law."

"Prisoner reentry is not a Democratic or Republican issue -it is a common sense issue," said Rep. Tubbs Jones. "The facts are clear -- meaningful reentry programs significantly diminish the chances that ex-offenders will return to prison. That saves taxpayer dollars and increases public safety. So why not invest in enhancing reentry programs in order to end the cycle of recidivism? That is exactly what the Second Chance Act does."

The State of Ohio has one of the largest populations of ex-offenders re-entering the community, with about 24,000 ex-offenders returning to their respective communities annually. Of those ex-offenders, about 6,000 will return to Cuyahoga County and almost 5,000 will re-enter the City of Cleveland. Statewide, about 40 percent of ex-offenders will return to prison. In Cuyahoga County, about 41 percent will return to prison. Such high recidivism rates translate into thousands of new crimes each year and wasted taxpayer dollars, which can be averted through improved prisoner reentry efforts.

The Second Chance Act allocates $360 million towards a variety of reentry programs. One of the main components of the bill is the funding of demonstration projects that would provide ex-offenders with a coordinated continuum of housing, education, health, employment, and mentoring services. This broad array of services would provide stability and make the transition for ex-offenders easier, in turn reducing recidivism. I look forward to congress appropriating the necessary funds for this program.

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Source: Office of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones

CONTACT: Nicole Y. Williams of the Office of Congresswoman Stephanie
Tubbs Jones, +1-202-225-7032

Web Site: www.house.gov/tubbsjones/

2008-04-10 17:17:30 0333521 PRNEWSWIRE