{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lacyclay.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-congressman-wm-lacy-clay-d-missouri-regarding-passage-first", "STATEMENT BY CONGRESSMAN WM. LACY CLAY (D) MISSOURI REGARDING PASSAGE OF THE \u201cFIRST STEP ACT OF 2018\u201d", "2018-12-20", "2018", "2018-12", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "William Clay", "C001049", "lacyclay.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "NOTE: The following, in its entirety, is a first-person statement by Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri.\nToday's historic vote is a long-overdue down payment on fixing America's broken criminal justice system. The First Step Act of 2018, which I was proud to cosponsor, strikes a blow against racially-biased sentencing inequality, especially for the thousands of Black and Latino federal inmates who were victimized by outrageous sentencing disparities between convictions for possession and distribution of crack and powder cocaine.\nOur bill also begins the process of curbing America's over-incarceration epidemic by easing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent federal crimes. And it will provide many federal inmates the opportunity to earn a second chance by using training and good behavior to shorten their incarceration. The First Step Act also reduces the three-strike penalty to 25 years from life in prison. \nAmerica has a mass incarceration problem. If we want a safer country and a fairer criminal justice system, we need to prioritize diversion, rehabilitation and education while making second chances possible for more inmates.\nThe massive bipartisan support for the First Step Act in both the House and the Senate shows that Congress still has the capacity to act together for the good of the American people. We have much more work to do, but this historic bill is a significant First Step towards equal justice for all, instead of just for some.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://lacyclay.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-congressman-wm-lacy-clay-d-missouri-regarding-passage-first"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.803161110728979, "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"}