Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Donald Trump on Friday urged Congress to overhaul the nation's prison
system and help more former inmates re-enter society, hoping to jump-start
legislation that's facing fresh opposition from Democrats.
Trump said at a
White House forum that a prison overhaul "unites people from across the
political spectrum" and that lawmakers need to "work out their
differences, get a bill to my desk — I will sign it."
"It's going to
be strong, it's going to be good, it's going to be what everybody wants,"
Trump said, pointing to bipartisan support for the changes. "You're all in
line, I think. You're all looking for the same thing."
But five
influential Democrats have announced their opposition to a House bill supported
by the White House, saying the approach would "be a step backward"
because it is flawed and doesn't cover changes to federal sentencing
guidelines.
Their opposition raises
questions about whether the bill could pass in a Congress run by Republicans,
who hold a slim Senate majority. The White House has expressed hopes of winning
approval ahead of the fall elections.
Trump has pushed
for a plan that focuses on helping facilitate released prisoners' re-entry into
society, as well as better developing their skills in prison and improving
rehabilitation services.
The president
convened a group of governors, faith-based leaders and experts in January to
talk about finding ways of bringing job training, mentoring and drug addiction
treatment to the nation's prison population.
A bill pushed by
Reps. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., cleared the House
Judiciary Committee last week and may be considered by the full House as early
as next week.
But some Democrats,
along with influential groups such as the NAACP and ACLU, want the bill to
include changes to sentencing guidelines, which Trump and Attorney General Jeff
Sessions have opposed.
In a letter
released Thursday, the Democrats said the bill would exclude too many people
who are incarcerated, provide inadequate money for the plan and fail to reduce
recidivism. It was signed by Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Cory Booker of New
Jersey and Kamala Harris of California along with Reps. John Lewis of Georgia
and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.
Jared Kushner,
Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, has led the White House efforts to
develop the criminal justice policy, including changes to the prison system.
During Friday's event, Kushner said he "had personal experience with"
the issue. That was a reference to his father, Charles Kushner, who served a
year in federal prison for illegal political contributions and tax evasion.
"The single
biggest thing that we want to do is really define what the purpose of a prison
is," Kushner said. "Is the purpose to punish, is the purpose to
warehouse or is the purpose to rehabilitate?"
On Twitter follow Ken Thomas at https://twitter.com/KThomasDC
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