House Judiciary Committee Fails to Advance Meaningful Justice System Reform

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the House Judiciary Committee approved two pieces of legislation: the FIRST STEP Act and the Protect and Serve Act of 2018:

“The House Judiciary Committee’s passage of both pieces of legislation today signifies a seriously misguided approach to justice system reform. The Protect and Serve Act inappropriately creates a new – yet duplicative – crime for offenses that “target law enforcement,” furthering division between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The FIRST STEP Act completely neglects the need for meaningful sentencing reform and, while it has some modest improvements, fails to fully address problems within our federal prison system. We would like to thank Ranking Member Jerry Nadler and Representatives Sheila Jackson-Lee, Pramila Jayapal, and Jamie Raskin for their commitment to continuing to push for sentencing reform and make further improvements on the merits of the FIRST STEP Act.

“Meaningful reform legislation must eliminate unwarranted racial disparities, create mechanisms for holding the system actors accountable, reduce overcrowding in prisons, and address the human and economic costs of discriminatory policing and mass incarceration. These bills fail on all four counts. We urge the full House to reject the Protect and Serve Act and the FIRST STEP Act unless they are significantly improved.”

Yesterday, The Leadership Conference wrote to the House Judiciary Committee urging opposition to the FIRST STEP Act. That letter can be found here. The Leadership Conference also wrote to the Senate urging opposition to the Protect and Serve Act. That letter can be found here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org