{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://turner.house.gov/2021/8/reps-turner-hill-cohen-sewell-act-to-assist-ex-inmates-as-they-transition-back-to-society", "Reps. Turner, Hill, Cohen, & Sewell Act to Assist Ex-Inmates as they Transition Back to Society", "2021-08-20", "2021", "2021-08", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Michael R. Turner", "T000463", "turner.house.gov", "turner", "https://turner.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "DAYTON, OH\u2013 Last Week, Rep. Mike Turner (OH-10), alongside Rep. French Hill (AR-02), Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), and Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07), introduced the Shift Back to Society Act (H.R. 5016). This legislation provides grants to HBCU\u2019s to create educational and career opportunities for previously incarcerated individuals reintegrating back into society. Post-introduction, the members made the following statements:\n\n\u201cRehabilitated individuals leaving incarceration deserve the opportunity to be successfully reintegrated into our communities and pursue the American dream. The pilot program created by this legislation has the capacity to reduce rates of recidivism, unemployment, and homelessness,\u201d said Rep. Turner. \u201cBy providing federal funds to HBCU\u2019s, we are investing in future career and educational opportunities for Americans seeking to turn their lives around. I urge my colleagues to support this vital initiative.\u201d\n\n\u201cPeople need to be reunited with their families, with their kids, reunited with the dignity and success of work and reunited with their faith. All of those things take a bad turn in prison. Any American in good standing with the law, regardless of prior offenses, deserves the opportunity to succeed and improve their own lives through a job,\u201d said Rep. Hill. \u201cI thank my friends Rep. Sewell, Rep. Cohen, and Rep Turner for joining me in introducing this bipartisan bill. The Shift Back to Society Act, coupled with current efforts in Arkansas and across the nation are vitally important to the long-term viability and sustainability of a healthy, growing, prosperous America.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is simply unacceptable that the United States continues to be the world\u2019s largest jailer,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cTo end this epidemic of mass incarceration, we must do everything in our power to ensure that our prisons serve as a pathway for rehabilitation, not recidivism. I\u2019m proud to support this bill which would increase educational opportunities for incarcerated individuals through our nation\u2019s HBCUs, which continue to provide the tools that all students need to achieve their educational and career potential. With this legislation, we\u2019re breaking down barriers to success for those in the criminal justice system.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe need to ensure that when people get out of prison, they have a chance to become productive, law-abiding citizens. Too often people leaving prison face significant barriers and struggles to meet their basic needs. To reduce recidivism and allow those who have returned from prison to fulfill their potential, we must remove unnecessary barriers and expand educational opportunities. By expanding access to education at HBCUs, this bill will provide people with opportunities to not only survive but thrive after leaving prison,\u201d said Rep. Cohen.\n\nFurther Background:\n\nSpecifically, this bill will:\n\nEstablish a 5-year pilot program to provide grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) for educational programming to eligible offenders to facilitate re-entry into the community.\n\nDefine eligible offenders as individuals that have been convicted of a criminal offense and have been released from incarceration for no more than one year; or are scheduled to be released within a year.\n\nRequire matching funds for the grant program, and funds from the federal government may not exceed 50 percent of the project cost.\n\nProvide an authorization that will not exceed $5,000,000 annually.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:11:17Z"]], "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://turner.house.gov/2021/8/reps-turner-hill-cohen-sewell-act-to-assist-ex-inmates-as-they-transition-back-to-society"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5084631741046906, "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"}