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President Trump poised to endorse U.S. House prison reform bill
Thomson Reuters
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump was poised to endorse a bipartisan U.S. House bill on Wednesday that would reform the federal prison system to help inmates prepare for life after their release, but the legislation still faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
The First Step Act, which was co-sponsored by Republican Doug Collins of Georgia and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New York, passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives in May with a vote of 360-59.
But it has still not gained traction in the U.S. Senate because it does not contain a broader overhaul favored by both some moderate conservatives and progressives seeking changes to mandatory minimum sentencing laws that have kept many low-level offenders behind bars for decades.
The First Step Act directs the federal Bureau of Prisons to do risk assessments on which inmates should qualify and earn credits toward completing their sentences in halfway houses or home confinement.
It also broadens employment opportunities for inmates and expands laws on compassionate release for the terminally ill, among other things.
Trump's expected endorsement of the bill, which comes after the White House issued a positive statement about it in May, will put Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley in a difficult position.
Grassley has been pushing his own criminal justice reform bill now for years that is more comprehensive than the House version because it would also reduce harsh prison sentences for non-violent offenders.
Earlier this year, Grassley was stunned when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote a scathing letter condemning the legislation as a "grave error" that would reduce prison terms for "a highly dangerous cohort of criminals."
Sessions' opposition led to a major feud with Grassley, who accused him of working behind the scenes with the White House to kill his bill even after Grassley had defended Sessions when Trump wanted to fire him for recusing himself from the Russia probe.
The bill has also met with some resistance from liberal Democrats in the House including anticipated incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who voted against it because he said it did not go far enough.
Trump forced Sessions to resign last week and replaced him with Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker.
It is unclear how things will play out now, given that Whitaker has known Grassley for years and is a fellow Iowan, but a U.S. House aide familiar with negotiations on the bill said he believes the Senate may still not have the votes to pass it.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Tom Brown)
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