Floor Statement on the Introduction of H.R. 2521, the Restoring Education and Learning (REAL) Act
May 21, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Restoring Education and Learning (REAL) Act, legislation that will curb our nation’s high incarceration rate through the avenue of education.
Joined by Reps. Davis, Lee, Scott, DeLauro and Richmond, our legislation will reinstate Pell Grant eligibility to federal and state prisoners, which was allowed from 1972-1995. A provision in the 1994 omnibus crime bill amended the 1965 Higher Education Act and reversed this rehabilitating and well invested policy.
Back then, 350 postsecondary prison programs in 37 states existed across the nation for incarcerated individuals. That ability to gain post-secondary education has been drastically reduced to about a dozen today. Subsequently, our state and federal population has increased by nearly 50 percent from 1 million to 1.5 million today.
According to a recent Vera Institute study, it costs American taxpayers roughly $31,000 a year to house an inmate. In my home state of Maryland, it costs taxpayers more than $38,000 a year to house an inmate. Overall, our nation spends roughly $40 billion a year on correctional facilities.
This comes despite a recent report by the RAND Corporation, which found that for every $1 investment in prison education programs there is a $4-5 dollar reduction in incarceration costs during the first three years post-release of a prisoner.
Earlier this month, I visited the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup as an observer of Goucher College’s Prison Education Partnership. I was inspired as I sat down with incarcerated men and women taking college courses and asking for the opportunity to better serve society once they are released.
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to cosponsor this important and much needed piece of legislation.
