Statement of Kara Gotsch, ACLU National Prison Project
on
H.R. 1577, the Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2002
"Increasing Employment Opportunities for Federal Prisoners, Not Limiting Them, Will Reduce Recidivism"
This year more than 600,000 men and women will be released from prison. The majority of them return to their communities isolated from their families, with no savings, little education or skills, and few job prospects. One year after release, up to 60 percent of ex-offenders are unemployed. Their inability to find work because of poor skills, functional illiteracy, discrimination and the many other obstacles that former prisoners face upon release all contribute to our nation's distressingly high levels of recidivism and reincarceration. Prison industry programs for incarcerated men and women create invaluable employment opportunities that reshape lives by confronting these obstacles. Today, the American Civil Liberties Union is pleased to join with Attorney General Edwin Meese in support of prison industry programs and to share our common concerns regarding current federal legislation.
Seven percent of the more than 2 million people behind bars participate in a prison industry program. Industries range from the refurbishing of old computers to the building of new office furniture. The Federal Bureau of Prison's industry program, UNICOR, is the largest in the country but employs only 18 percent of its prison population. UNICOR's success is measured by studies that show prisoners who work in Federal Prison Industries, upon release, are more likely to be employed, earn a higher wage and are 24 percent less likely to be engaged in criminal behavior than prisoners who do not participate. H.R. 1577, the Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2002, ignores the positive effects of prison industries by significantly reducing the number of prisoners who can participate in UNICOR over time and provides few alternative programs for prisoner rehabilitation.
The ACLU believes prisoner rehabilitation programs are essential to reducing crime and high levels of incarceration. At a time when the United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, H.R. 1577 is a perilous step in the wrong direction. The federal government should provide more vocational training and employment, education and drug treatment programs in prisons, not fewer. Further, if Congress seeks to institute fair and constructive reforms to prison industries, it should extend the Fair Labor Standards Act and federal health and safety standards to cover working prisoners.
Plans to improve and expand industry programs will benefit not only prisoners. Their families can receive wage disbursements for child support; victims receive restitution payments through income withholdings, and communities benefit from the increased tax base and the decreased likelihood of returning prisoners committing new crimes. Supporters of H.R. 1577 need to give more consideration to these important contributions rather than relegate prisoners and their families to a continued cycle of crime and incarceration