WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his support for the first major rewrite of the nations criminal justice sentencing laws in a generation, but it remains to be seen whether the proposal can pass Congress.
Trump said the bill will make our communities safer and give former inmates a second chance at life after they have served their time. Trump hailed the deal as proof that true bipartisanship is possible though no Democrats attended the White House announcement.
Senators reached an agreement this week on bipartisan legislation that would boost rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and give judges more discretion when sentencing nonviolent offenders, particularly for drug offenses. The House approved a prison reform bill in May, but the proposed Senate package makes additional changes and adds the sentencing component. That means the House would need to revote on anything the Senate passes.
Criminal justice reform has been a priority of Trumps son-in-law, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who has been working on the issue for months. Trump pushed for swift passage of the legislation, potentially during the lame-duck session of Congress.
Ill be waiting with a pen, he said.
But members still havent seen the details, and time is running short.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was cautious about the bills prospects Wednesday. He told reporters that GOP leaders would do a whip count to gauge the bills support once they have a final proposal in hand.
Still, he noted the Senate has other things it needs to accomplish in the final weeks of the year, including funding the government and passing a farm bill. He said Republicans would have to see how the criminal justice bill stacks up against our other priorities once a final agreement is reached.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called Trumps announcement an encouraging sign that we can achieve substantive reforms to our criminal justice system in this Congress.
Redemption is at the heart of the American idea, and thats what this is about, he said.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal thinking, said they hoped McConnell would hold a whip count after the Thanksgiving break. They also argued Trumps support would move lawmakers to back the compromise and that more would sign on once legislative text is released.
The bill is a rare bipartisan endeavor in a typically log-jammed Congress and has attracted support from a coalition of liberal and conservative groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and groups backed by the political donors Charles and David Koch. Critics say current sentencing guidelines are unfair and have had a lopsided impact on minority communities.
Did I hear the word bipartisan? Trump joked during a Roosevelt Room event announcing his backing for the deal. Did I hear that word? Thats a nice word.
But even as he hailed the cooperation, Trump couldnt resist a swipe at his former political opponents, saying the Clinton crime law disproportionality affected black Americans.
The Senate package overhauls some of the mandatory sentencing guidelines that have been in place since 1994 legislation approved by Congress and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.
Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa released a joint statement, calling the endorsement an important step in our shared effort to promote safe communities and improve justice.
