WASHINGTON, DC (NEXSTAR/WBTW) – A key vote is expected this week on a sweeping bill aimed at reforming the criminal justice system.
News13’s Washington correspondent Drew Petrimoulx reports the vote comes amid a fight over just how far the reforms should go.
With momentum building for a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, holdout lawmakers are demanding last minute changes.
A group of Republican senators that includes Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania, John Kennedy from Louisiana, and Arkansas’ Tom Cotton say the “First Step Act” goes too easy on too many convicted criminals.
The “First Step Act” restricts mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent offenders. It provides more funding for prison education programs, and it allows some federal inmates the possibility of early release with good behavior.
“Right now, I think the senate bill is overly ambitious, over-broad,” said Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R- TN).
Tennessee Republican Congressman Chuck Fleischmann supports changes to limit the types of convicts that might benefit from the bill.
The senators also want changes to require that victims be notified before an inmate is released and that would track inmates after release to determine if they re-offend.
But, there is bipartisan momentum in support of the “First Step Act” as currently written.
“President Trump’s involvement on this issue and leadership on this issue has been very strong and it has had a clear cause and effect,” Fleischmann also said.
Still, the holdout senators are promising push for their changes before the Senate gets to a final vote on the bill.
The final vote on the reform bill could come late this week.
