Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the First Step Act topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hearing flags gaps in First Step Act reentry implementation
Summary
Unidentified committee speakers told a hearing the First Step Act remains partially unimplemented, citing unfilled halfway-house beds; a hearing respondent said they would look into why and was asked to help continue implementation if confirmed.
Unidentified Speaker 1, speaking as a committee member, reviewed their long involvement in criminal justice reform and said they worked with senators including Durbin, Grassley, Cornyn and Booker to pass the First Step Act, which "President Trump signed into law in December 2018."
Unidentified Speaker 1 added that "the First Step Act... was intended to be the first of multiple steps" and that "much remains to be done, including with the implementation of the First Step Act." They asked the respondent whether they would be willing, "if confirmed," to help continue implementation.
Unidentified Speaker 2 replied in the affirmative and told the committee, "a lot of those beds for halfway houses, for reentry have not been filled under the First Step Act. So if that's true, I wanna look at that right away and and figure out why." The transcript does not provide a numeric count for unfilled beds; the precise number was not specified.
Unidentified Speaker 1 said other reforms could assist, noting they were a cosponsor of the Safer Supervision Act and arguing that federal leadership matters because states often look to the federal government for policy direction. "It's always important to make sure that, we're running..." they said, describing the federal government's role as "a significant presence."
No motions or votes were recorded in the provided transcript. The exchange focused on implementation follow-up: the committee asked for assistance in implementing credits and reentry components of the First Step Act, and the respondent pledged to investigate apparent gaps in halfway-house placements.
The hearing did not identify the committee's formal name or the respondent by personal name in the provided transcript; speakers are labeled here using the transcript identifiers. The exchange ended with a commitment by Unidentified Speaker 2 to look into the unfilled reentry beds; no further procedural steps or deadlines were recorded in the provided segments.
