For the first time in history, our nation's prisons are overcrowded with over two million inmates, and nearly 650,000 are released into the community each year.  With such large numbers of offenders having served their sentences and reentering society, we need programs to help them become productive members of the community.

 The Second Chance Act, H.R. 4676, would reauthorize a Department of Justice grant for States and local governments to implement programs to help offenders successfully reenter society.  These include programs focusing on education, job training, and drug and alcohol abuse counseling.