WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, May 22, the House of Representatives passed the FIRST STEP Act (H.R. 5682), a bipartisan prison reform bill that takes a first step towards improving the criminal justice system. The bill would bring more than 178,000 federal prisoners home to their families sooner, fund rehabilitative programs, ban the use of restraints on pregnant inmates, and require the Bureau of Prisons to place prisoners within 500 driving miles of their families, among other provisions. Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) supported the FIRST STEP Act when it passed the House with bipartisan support.

“Today, Congress took a first bipartisan step forward in our fight for criminal justice reform,” said Rep. Terri Sewell. “Our prisons should be a pathway for rehabilitation, not recidivism, and today’s bill clears that pathway for tens of thousands of incarcerated individuals. This is not a perfect bill, and I strongly believe that Congress must take action to end the epidemic of mass incarceration that has made the United States the world’s biggest jailer. But the FIRST STEP Act begins our work to fix the criminal justice system with bipartisan reforms that will have a real-life impact for families across the country. There is a long road ahead for criminal justice reform, but today’s vote sets us in the right direction.”

The FIRST STEP Act would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to place people in prisons no more than 500 driving miles from home unless security designation, programming or health care needs, or bed space limits prevent it. The legislation would also give all federal prisoners, except those serving life sentences, an additional 7 days off for each year of the sentence imposed if the prisoner displays good behavior. Additionally the FIRST STEP Act would fund and incentivize rehabilitative programming, and require BOP to put low-risk, low-needs people in home confinement for the maximum amount of time allowed.

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.