Second Chance Act in House and Senate

Federal Re-entry Legislation for the 110th Congress

The Second Chance Act of 2007 was introduced in the 110th Congress on 20 March 2007 as H.R. 1593. Just a week after the re-introduction of the bill, 28 March 2007, members of the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 1593, the Second Chance Act of 2007. The bill will now be sent to the House floor for consideration, which sponsors say will take place in mid-April. During the mark-up of the bill, members voted down several amendments that would have jeopardized the bipartisan support for the bill. Sen. Bidden introduced S.1060, an identical bill, in the Senate on 29 March 2007. See: http://www.fedcure.org/information/Legislation.shtml.

Designed to reduce recidivism and increase public safety by addressing the needs of prisoners preparing to return to communities from the criminal justice system, the Second Chance Act has been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

On March 20, Representative Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and 14 members of the House of Representatives from both parties introduced H.R. 1593, the Second Chance Act of 2007. On March 28, H.R. 1593 was discussed and "marked up" in the House judiciary committee. While amendments to limit some of the services included in the act were introduced, they were ultimately defeated and the bill passed unchanged out of the House judiciary committee. The bill will now be sent to the House floor for full consideration.

On March 30, Senators Joe Biden (D-Del.), Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), Sam Brownback (R-Kans.), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced S. 1060, the Senate version of the Second Chance Act.

What would the Second Chance Act of 2007 do?

Among other things, the Second Chance Act would provide reentry funding on the state and local level to support former prisoners' needs for housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment, education, employment and rebuilding family and community ties. Nearly 650,000 individuals are released from federal and state custody each year only to find limited support to aid in their reentry efforts. The Second Chance Act of 2007 would help the formerly incarcerated successfully transition back into communities.