WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior Member of the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and the Budget, released the following statement in support of the “Jobs and Justice Act” introduced by CBC members:

“The Congressional Black Caucus (“CBC”)’s Jobs and Justice Act is important legislation and I am pleased that it contains many provisions that I have introduced and championed during my service in the House of Representatives. The “Jobs and Justice Act” is so named for its recognition of twin pinnacles necessary to live a life of dignity and worth. It was developed based on our collective experience and by interacting with members of the communities we serve.

“The first component of this piece of legislation is building trust. That is why I was proud to introduce the “Build TRUST Act.” After the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Americans all over the country were shocked to learn that many municipalities support their day-to-day operations through the collection of fines for relatively lower-level infractions. Individuals in lower socioeconomic circles are disproportionately cited for these infractions and their accumulation has a socially paralyzing effect on a community and its citizens. That is why I introduced the Build TRUST Act which would increase public confidence in local law enforcement by decreasing excessive reliance by local governments on traffic fines and court costs to generate revenue to fund government operations. Specifically, my legislation would cap the percentage of monies utilized by municipalities for this purpose. It is a necessary part of any road to justice and I am pleased it is incorporated into the Jobs and Justice Act.

“Of course, if citizens are concerned about getting harassed by local authorities, they are unable to think about other critical matters, like school for our young people, and entrepreneurship for those in the workforce. In the 21st century, we are seeing a convergence of a changing economy, emerging technology and students and businesspersons caught in the middle. History has shown that many graduates lack jobs after commencement and small business owners are unable to utilize the skills many of today’s graduates learn. That is why I introduced the “America RISING Act.” Through the allocation of grants, the America RISING Act facilitates the ready availability of a substantial pool of intellectual capital that can be deployed to assist companies with operations in economically distressed areas and small, disadvantaged, and minority businesses which would immediately and dramatically benefit from such an infusion of human capital.

“The need for human capital is plainly evident in the 21st century. In the post 9/11 era, the country has realized a need to anticipate unexpected threats from a variety of sources. We must always be a step ahead of our enemies in order to effectively detect and prevent terrorism in whatever form it may arise, including cyber threats to our nation’s critical infrastructure. A cyberattack on critical infrastructure, such as a water treatment facility or a railway system, could potentially devastate millions of American citizens and the economy. A recent GAO report indicated that cyberattacks on government agencies have skyrocketed by over 782% over 7 years. It is clear that America currently suffers from both a lack of awareness of the nature and the potential for harm from cyber threats, as well as a shortage of professionals equipped to effectively defend against these increasing and evolving threats. I am pleased that my legislation, the “Cybersecurity Education and Federal Workforce Enhancement Act,” has been incorporated into the Jobs and Justice Act. This legislation directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish, in conjunction with the National Science Foundation, a program to award grants to institutions of higher education for: (1) Cybersecurity professional development programs; (2) Associate degree programs in cybersecurity; and (3) the purchase of equipment to provide training in cybersecurity for either professional development or degree programs.

“Yet this human capital is not automatically guaranteed inevitable success. It must be incubated in communities inoculated from police overreach. Law enforcement often uses federal grant money to keep our communities safe. With these monies they implement programs like subject-specific task forces, often supported through the Byrne Memorial Justice Access Grant program. But even these programs must be safeguarded against folly. In that regard, there are few task forces more notorious than the Byrne-funded task force scandal which occurred in Tulia, Texas. There, dozens of African-American residents (totaling over 16 percent of the town's African-American population) were arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to decades in prison, based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of one undercover officer whose background included past allegations of misconduct, sexual harassment, unpaid debts, and habitual use of a racial epithet. The undercover officer was allowed to work alone, and not required to provide audiotapes, video surveillance, or eyewitnesses to corroborate his allegations. Despite the lack of physical evidence or corroboration, the charges were vigorously prosecuted. After the first few trials resulted in convictions and lengthy sentences, many defendants accepted plea bargains. Suspicions regarding the legitimacy of the charges eventually arose after two of the accused defendants were able to produce convincing alibi evidence to prove that they were out of State or at work at the time of the alleged drug purchases. Texas Governor Rick Perry eventually pardoned the Tulia defendants (after four years of imprisonment), but these kinds of scandals continue to plague Byrne grant program spending. In order to prevent against future such abuses, I introduced the “No More Tulias Act.” This bill would prohibit Byrne grants from going to: (1) States that do not exercise effective control over antidrug task forces; (2) any State that fails to prohibit criminal convictions based solely on the testimony of a law enforcement officer or informants; and (3) any state which does not ensure that the use of corroborative evidence, such as video or audio tapes, drugs, and money, should always be required for such criminal convictions to be sustained. This legislation is an important step towards ensuring that jurisdictions that receive this critical federal support are subjected to higher evidentiary standards, and as a corollary, any subsequent convictions are immune from the plight of defendants such as those experienced in Tulia, Texas.

“Additionally, the impulse to incarcerate individuals has led to overcrowded prisons. As a result, and spurred by an endeavor to save money, jurisdictions have turned to private prisons as a way of dealing with this problem. Unfortunately, this leaves many housed at these prisons—and their loved ones waiting outside a prison’s walls—with little in terms of transparency about prisoner treatment, and accountability in the event a private prison departs from acceptable protocols for treating inmates. That is why I introduced the “Private Prison Information Act.” This bill specifies that a record related to a non-federal prison, correctional, or detention facility that incarcerates federal prisoners is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the same manner as a record maintained by a federal prison or detention facility. A non-federal prison, correctional, or detention facility must disclose information under FOIA unless the information is exempt from disclosure or the disclosure is prohibited by law. This legislation is critical to providing peace of mind to all stakeholders concerned about the treatment of persons incarcerated in private prisons and instills a measure of accountability.

“I am pleased that the CBC’s “Jobs and Justice Act” includes five bills that I have introduced that would build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve; provide economic opportunity to young persons and small businesses; and provides greater transparency and accountability to all who interact with the criminal justice system.”