{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-cleaver-brown-and-foushee-introduce-prison-libraries-act-reduce", "Reps. Cleaver, Brown, and Foushee Introduce Prison Libraries Act to Reduce Recidivism and Expand Educational Opportunities for Incarcerated Americans", "2026-01-27", "2026", "2026-01", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Shontel Brown (D-OH), and Valerie Foushee (D-NC) re-introduced the Prison Libraries Act to expand library resources in U.S. state and territory correctional facilities, aiming to increase educational opportunities, advance reintegration efforts, and reduce recidivism. The bill will authorize $60,000,000 over six years for state prisons to expand library resources and services to support the education and skills training of incarcerated Americans.\n\n\u201cAmerica\u2019s correctional system is far too often focused on punishment rather than rehabilitation. The Prison Libraries Act is an attempt to shift this dynamic, providing incarcerated Americans with increased access to education and skills training services that will better prepare them for reintegration into society,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cBy making strategic investments in the rehabilitative components of America\u2019s correctional facilities, we can reduce recidivism, strengthen public safety, and curtail the growing costs of our correctional system.\u201d\n\n\u201cEveryone deserves to have access to learning, ideas, information and literature no matter where they are,\u201d said Congresswoman Brown. \u201cThe Prison Libraries Act would help give incarcerated community members the resources they need to pursue knowledge and development opportunities they would not have otherwise received. When people have access to education and information, they\u2019re better equipped to succeed when they come home, and our communities are safer and stronger.\u201d\n\n\u201cLibraries give everyone the chance to learn and grow, yet many correctional facilities lack the infrastructure to provide these essential resources,\u201d said Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04). \u201cTo reduce recidivism and support successful reintegration, our justice system must provide incarcerated individuals with ways to prepare for life after release. I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Prison Libraries Act to help more prisons establish libraries and educational programs, giving people the necessary tools to build skills and successfully re-enter their communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cPrison libraries open doors of opportunity and provide essential literacy support to address the urgent information needs of millions of incarcerated people in the United States,\u201d said Sam Helmick, American Library Association President. \u201cFunding from the Prison Libraries Act would expand educational services and provide incarcerated individuals with resources to build skills for employment and enable them to return to their communities better equipped for life after incarceration.\u201d\n\nPrison Libraries should not be treated as a privilege. They are one of the only places for people in prison to be connected to the world and intellectually stimulated. This is about the fundamental human right of all people to seek and receive information, and to access the ideas and lived experiences of others through literature; rights that are often abridged by carceral censors. We applaud Representative Cleaver for his inspiring effort to revive libraries in prisons through re-introduction of the Prison Libraries Act,\u201d said Jonathan Friedman, PEN America\u2019s Sy Syms Managing Director, U.S. Free Expression Programs.\n\nWithin the prison community, libraries offer escapism and a means for personal development through learning and acquiring new trades and skills that can be applied upon release. Ultimately, prison libraries are an innovative tool for rehabilitation and re-entry.\n\nOver 600,000 individuals are released from federal and state prisons each year. Upon release, these individuals often struggle to reintegrate into their communities. This struggle is exacerbated by prisons often offering incarcerated individuals little to no educational or job training opportunities. The lack of such resourceful opportunities affects formerly incarcerated individuals' ability to find gainful employment once released and increases the likelihood of recidivism. Libraries are one of the most powerful and transformative resources against recidivism, but they tend to be substantially underutilized, scarce, insufficiently funded, and inadequately equipped with learning, training, information, and communication materials and technologies in American jails and prisons.\n\nThe Prison Libraries Act would authorize a competitive grant program for state and U.S. territory prisons to:\n\nOffer adequate library services, including education and job training, digital literacy, career readiness programming, and computer and internet access, among other services, for free;\n\nInvest in acquiring updated materials and equipment that reflect the prison population's interests, identities, abilities, and languages;\n\nExpand the infrastructure of prison libraries;\n\nHire well-trained and qualified staff to manage libraries, their resources, and services; and\n\nBuild a collaborative relationship with respective local public libraries.\n\nThe Prison Libraries Act is endorsed by the American Library Association, Books Through Bars, Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants, DC Books to Prisons, Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library, Missouri Humanities, Missouri Prison Books, Prison Book Program, Prison Library Project at Claremont Forum, Prisoners Literature Project, Vera Institute of Justice, and Books to Prisoners Seattle.\n\nThe Prison Libraries Act is cosponsored by Representatives Ed Case (D-HI), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Cleo Fields (D-LA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda (D-IL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Julie Johnson (D-TX), Summer Lee (D-PA), LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), Emily Randall (D-WA), David Scott (D-GA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Bennie Thompson (D-MS).\n\nOfficial text of the Prison Libraries Act is available here.\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-cleaver-brown-and-foushee-introduce-prison-libraries-act-reduce"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4584120362997055, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}