Stephanie Jones

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the privilege. They say some things bear repeating. These words bear repeating. Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant South, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh. Here is fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop. The words of a songstress, but the words of the South, the words of African Americans from across this country and other ethnic groups. Seeing somehow in America we have begun to believe that this conduct is acceptable, that we can hang nooses, we can do crosses, we can do all kinds of things against people without believing that it has some impact or that it can hurt. It hurts like a knife. It cuts like a knife. My mama from Alabama, my daddy from Alabama, my in-laws from Georgia, Alabama; the stories go on and on about how terrible nooses can and have been. America, this is the Congress saying our sense is that this is terrible conduct and that it should be criminalized. But, America, wake up. What if it were you that got the noose. What if it was your grandfather or grandmother that was hung. What if they were required to hang on a tree and let the blood suck and sip from them and crows gnaw at them. It would be a terrible situation for you. As one American to another, you should cry for us, too. Let's pass this legislation, ladies and gentlemen. Let's tell our country, let us tell the world that we will never, ever allow such a thing or such conduct to happen again. No more nooses.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 19th Anniversary of World AIDS Day. This past Friday, December 1, was World AIDS Day, a day where we pause to once again focus our attention on this deadly disease that has proved to be so devastating to so many throughout the world. Since the first diagnosis in 1981, approximately 65 million people have been infected with the HIV virus, while more than 25 million people have died of AIDS worldwide. In 2007 alone, The United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that AIDS had killed 2.1 million people while 33.2 million people were living with HIV worldwide and of whom 2.5 million people were newly infected. An estimated one million people are currently living with HIV in the United States, with approximately 40,000 new infections occurring each year--70 percent of these new infections occur in men and 30 percent occur in women. African Americans make up only 13 percent of the population, yet now account for 54 percent of all AIDS cases in the United States. Additionally, 64 percent of the new infections in women occur in African American women. In order to combat this problem we must begin to educate people across this country about avoiding risky behavior and the importance of protecting yourself when engaging in sexual intercourse, but first you must know your status. We must pay particular attention to the education of our young people with regard to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since the introduction of abstinence-only education 10 years ago, sexually transmitted disease rates are up. I would like to applaud the Governor of my home State of Ohio, Ted Strickland's efforts to implement a comprehensive sex education program in our schools that focuses on both abstinence and contraception. It is my hope that this is something that is implemented on a national level. Last year I issued a challenge to all Americans, and specifically African American women who are the fastest growing segment of the population to be infected by HIV/AIDS, to get tested and know their status. Today I reissue that challenge, and I will keep pressing this issue until we are able to find a cure and bring an end to this disease.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, there is a God. For the past 8 years I have introduced legislation called the Predatory Lending Reduction Act, saying to the community and the world that there is a problem happening out here. And here we are in 2007, some 8 years later, and there is a wake-up call going on. Across the country, people are having problems with their mortgages and communities are losing tax underwriting as a result thereof. I am pleased that H.R. 3915 incorporates language from the Predatory Lending Reduction Act that I introduced 8 years ago and that it requires a licensing and registration for mortgage brokers. We all know that all subprime lenders are not predatory lenders, but we also know that all predatory lenders are subprime lenders, and we have to get on top of this. Thank God we are saving the people of America.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 3915, The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007. For the past 8 years I have introduced the Predatory Lending Practices Reduction Act, which seeks to establish a mortgage licensing system for mortgage brokers. It also provides grants to nonprofit community development corporations to educate and train borrowers and community groups regarding illegal and inappropriate predatory lending practices. I am pleased that H.R. 3915 incorporates language from my bill that establishes a nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry to license and register individual mortgage brokers, and register bank employees that originate mortgages. I believe that brokers should be prohibited from being the original provider of loans, loan originators, without having first obtained, and continue to maintain, registration within the NMLSR. This legislation has been warranted for a very long time. I have been preaching about this issue since I came to Congress as a member of the Financial Services Committee. We are facing a national housing crisis and without this legislation, the problem will only get much worse. The nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending projects that as this year ends, 2.5 million households in the sub-prime market will either have lost their homes to foreclosure or hold sub-prime mortgages that will fail over the next several years. These foreclosures will cost homeowners as much as $164 billion, primarily in lost home equity. In Ohio, and particularly in my congressional district, the problem has gone from bad to worse with nearly 42 percent of loans generated in the past year being sub-prime, and an estimated one in six sub-prime loans in the district will ultimately end in foreclosure. These sub- prime foreclosures will result in price declines for more than 198,000 surrounding homes, with homeowners in my district losing about $249 million in equity. Mr. Chairman, I commend Chairman Frank and the Financial Services Committee on their hard work and commitment to this issue. I am glad to see this bill on the floor today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this meaningful and necessary legislation.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Let me say for the record my name is Stephanie Tubbs Jones. I am the Congresswoman from Cleveland, Ohio. I served for 10 years as a judge in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 8 years as the elected prosecutor in Cuyahoga County. And, Mr. Gohmert, your remarks are just outrageous.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Very well. I will talk to you when I get my own.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I won't do all the thank-you's that Mr. Davis has already done. I want to say to you, Judge, if I offended you, I apologize. But you know as well as I do that it is so important for us to have programs for ex-offenders. In the time that I was a judge and prosecutor, it was those young people that we helped, that we gave a second chance to, that we said to them, all right, you made a mistake, let's make a difference in your life. I can't tell you how many times I have walked down the street, Judge Gohmert, and young people have walked up to me and said, ``Judge, you gave me a break and I thank you.'' ``Judge, you gave me an opportunity.'' And more than those young people need an opportunity. They need a second chance. This is the program. We can't study anymore. We have studied. There are all kinds of studies that have shown that community reentry works. There is all kind of programs that say diversion works. And there is a lot of young people out here who don't have a mother or father that is a judge or a prosecutor or a Congresswoman or a State Representative to call and say I am a good person. They need us to say in the world that young people, older people, whatever their age, who have been involved in the criminal justice system, paid their dues. They need a chance, and we ought to give them the second chance. Last week we were talking about reading the Bible, the week of the Bible and how important it was to follow God's word. What more important? God said you visited me when I was sick, when I was in jail. Second Chance can do that. And, Judge, all I am saying to you, and I didn't mean to offend you, but if I did I want you to know, your comments that fuel the fire make it hard for us to do a second chance. Mr. Speaker, I have been waiting nearly 30 years for Congress to enact meaningful reentry legislation, as I have been deeply involved in prisoner reentry issues since my days as a judge and county prosecutor in Cleveland, Ohio, before serving in Congress. While Cuyahoga County prosecutor, I helped establish the Pretrial Diversion Program, as well as the Municipal Drug Court. Both programs, I am proud to say, still exist and continue to help ex-offenders move on with their lives and become productive citizens of society. Prisoner reentry is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is a common sense issue. The facts are clear--meaningful reentry programs significantly diminish the chances that ex-offenders will return to prison. That saves taxpayer dollars and increases public safety. So why not invest in enhancing reentry programs in order to end the cycle of recidivism? That is exactly what the Second Chance Act does. In 2002, 2 million people were incarcerated in all Federal and State prisons. Each year, nearly 650,000 people are released from prison to communities nationwide. Nearly two-thirds of released prisoners are expected to be re-arrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of their release. The State of Ohio has one of the largest populations of ex-offenders re-entering the community, with about 24,000 ex-offenders returning to their respective communities annually. Of those ex-offenders, about 6,000 will return to Cuyahoga County and almost 5,000 will re-enter in the city of Cleveland. Statewide, about 40 percent of ex-offenders will return to prison. In Cuyahoga County, about 41 percent will return to prison. Such high recidivism rates translate into thousands of new crimes each year and wasted taxpayer dollars, which can be averted through improved prisoner reentry efforts. This legislation is critical to successful re-entry of offenders. The bill provides as a beginning the essential ingredients necessary to assure public safety and recovery. It will help begin the process of breaking down barriers to successful re-entry and allow offenders and their families the tools necessary to break the cycle of criminality. I would like to thank my colleague Danny Davis for all of his hard work on this issue as well as former Congressman Rob Portman who was the first to introduce the legislation. I encourage my colleagues to support this very important legislation.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I thank my chairman for giving me this opportunity to be heard. You know, my friend from New York, I tried to feel what he was saying to me. And it was emotional and everything, but it did not speak to the issue that we're talking about. I went to law school, and I wanted to be a civil rights lawyer. I thought that if I was a great civil rights lawyer, I could really help the people of America, the people that live in my community. But I should have been a tax lawyer, because had I been a tax lawyer, then I would have better understood how I could help middle-class families by fixing the AMT. If I had been a tax lawyer, I would have understood how I could help people purchase homes and get a benefit from it. Had I been a tax lawyer, I would have understood how fairness operates in the United States of America through the Tax Code, because by the Tax Code, poor people might have a chance, working people might have a chance. I say to my colleagues today, vote for this, vote for this bill. It may not be all that we wanted. And if you think about it, if we hadn't spent so many trillions of dollars in Iraq, maybe there would be a pay- for in this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that today, the House is taking up tax relief for the 23 million Americans who otherwise would be saddled with the onerous alternative minimum tax. In addition, we are also providing relief for 7.4 million low-income workers by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit. Families across America will this weekend sit down at the dinner table take an accounting of their personal finances and balance their checkbook. The Government is charged with balancing the checkbook of the United States. While I enthusiastically support the efforts of private equity and hedge fund managers, I am very aware that service income is just that and should be taxed that way--at ordinary income rates. It is the responsible thing to do because we must not mortgage our future by continuing to borrow from foreign countries such as China. We are also, Mr. Speaker, enabling more than 6.5 million working families to use the refundable Child Tax Credit. This is allowing more families to remove themselves from the depths of poverty. This legislation is helping Americans help themselves. It is okay to ask people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but if they don't have boots, we are asking too much. H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act is sound legislation, progressive tax policy and the right direction for America. When a member of Congress hails from one of the poorest congressional districts in America as I do, there is a special responsibility to ensure that the interests of constituents are being addressed. That is why I am pleased to see that while we are pursuing a patch for the AMT, we are also increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for an additional 7.4 million low-income workers. The alternative minimum tax is an important issue for the American middle class taxpayer who does not get to take advantage of sophisticated tax planning and legal loopholes in the tax code. It is time that we addressed this issue once and for all to relieve the American taxpayer from the agony and pain that arise from having to figure out their taxes twice in order to come up with their tax liability. It is particularly ironic that a tax that was meant for a few wealthy individuals has become the bane of existence for millions of American taxpayers, who could be affected. Indeed the AMT has become a menace. Over 7,000 hardworking Ohioans in my district had the grim task of filing a return with AMT implications in the 2005 tax year. Those are families with children, healthcare costs, unemployment issues, housing costs and the other money matters with which American taxpayers must cope. Relief is due. We should consider alternatives to this alternative that might include a complete repeal. Relief is due. ``Taxes are what we pay to live in civilized society,'' but dealing with the AMT has become a bit uncivil. On the one hand we have people that have to live paycheck-to-paycheck and on the other hand we have partners in partnerships, whether they be real estate or private equity who sippeth from the public trough. I am cognizant that many of these partners work diligently to bring companies to market and to grease the wheels of capitalism from which we all benefit, from East Cleveland to East L.A. to East Harlem. As I mentioned after the introduction of Representative Levin's H.R. 2834, we must applaud the efforts of American capitalists and the strides that they make in fostering growth in our economy and, the global economy to wit. Yet we must also tax compensation income as compensation income and capital gains thusly. We must also be mindful of the effect that our tax policy has on potential reinvestment in low-income and minority communities. It is important to note that women and minorities are often the last to the table and just when they are getting ready to participate in the large- scale ``financial festival'' that is private equity and hedge funds, etc, the rules appear to be changing. It is incumbent upon members of the aforementioned parties that fair and equitable tax policy should not be confused with the opening up of capital markets and the extension of new opportunity. The tenets of sound tax policy begin with the notions of equity, efficiency and simplicity. Relying on that traditional framework I am sure that we have come to a rational consensus.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today in honor of my dear friend David Allen, who will celebrate his 60th birthday on November 15, 2007. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, and raised in the Collinwood/Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland, David is a proud 1965 graduate of Glenville High School. He went on to receive an associate's degree from Cuyahoga Community College, bachelor's degree from Cleveland State University and a master's degree from Boston University. Additionally, David served honorably in the United States Army obtaining the rank of captain. David began his career as a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, where he researched the impact of reserve requirements on commercial bank profitability in Federal Reserve District I. In 1975, he came to the hill as a majority staff consultant for the House Budget Committee. There he served as staff liaison to my predecessor Congressman Louis Stokes and Congressman Parren Mitchell. Some of the highlights of his tenure include: heading task forces on health, labor and education, and housing and community development; helping develop first Congressional Black Caucus Alternative Budget; and authoring the first 10 percent minority business set-aside included as an amendment in the Local Public Works Act of 1976. He would later serve as senior economist for the Joint Economic Committee where he advised Congressman Stokes on business and economic development issues in the Cleveland district. After years of public and private service, David and his wife Sandra founded The KEVRIC Company, Inc. in 1981, which was named in honor of their two sons, Kevin and Eric. The company provided management, technical, and scientific support services to private and public sector clients. He sold the KEVRIC Company in 2003 and would later found another consulting firm, Stephco, named as a tribute to his daughter. Though we grew up in close proximity to each other, I did not meet David until he began dating my dear friend Sandra when we were students at Case Western Reserve University. Since that time our friendship has continued to grow. David's stellar accomplishments and success reflect his tremendous hard work and determination. He is a shining example for people of color and all people of the realization of the ``American Dream'' and I am extremely proud to call him my friend. On behalf of the people of the 11th Congressional District, I am extremely pleased to join with his wife Sandra; children Kevin, Eric and Stephanie, my goddaughter and namesake; his two daughters-in-law, three grandchildren, family and friends in wishing David Allen a very happy and blessed 60th birthday! And I wish you many, many, more.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, today I rise in honor of a personal hero, Carl B. Stokes. Today marks the 40th anniversary of his historic election as mayor of the city of Cleveland. The first African American mayor of a large American city, Carl Stokes was an inspiration not only to people of color, but all Americans. Carl Stokes was born June 21, 1927 in Cleveland, OH to Charles Stokes, a laundry worker, and Louise Stokes, a cleaning woman. His father died when he was two, leaving his mother to raise Carl, and his brother, my predecessor, former Congressman Louis Stokes, alone. They lived in Cleveland's first federally funded housing project for the poor Outhwaite Homes. Although a good student, Carl dropped out of high school in 1944. He worked briefly for Thompson Products before joining the U.S. Army at the age of 18. Following his discharge in 1946, Stokes returned to Cleveland and earned his high school diploma in 1947. He would attend several colleges before earning his bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1954. He went on to graduate from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1956 and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1957. While studying law he was a probation officer. For four years, he served as assistant prosecutor and became partner in the law firm of Stokes, Stokes, Character, and Terry, and continued to practice throughout his political career. In 1962, he became the first black elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served for three terms. He made his first run for mayor of Cleveland in 1965, narrowly losing the bid. He would mount a second run in 1967 where he was able to mobilize both black and white voters to defeat Seth Taft, the grandson of a former U.S. president William Howard Taft, by a 50.5 majority. As mayor, Stokes opened city hall jobs to blacks and women and initiated Cleveland: Now!, a public and private funding program aimed at the revitalization of Cleveland neighborhoods. Additionally, the National League of Cities elected him as their first black president-elect. He was reelected in 1969, and in 1971 chose not to run for a third term. After his mayoral administration, Stokes lectured to colleges around the country. In 1972 he became the first black anchorman in New York City when he took a job with television station WNBC-TV. He returned to Cleveland in 1980 and began serving as general legal counsel for the United Auto Workers. In 1983, he decided to run for the municipal court judgeship that I had vacated against an incumbent judge appointee. This election was the beginning of a long friendship that I could have never dreamed of or anticipated as a young volunteer on his 1967 campaign. From 1983 to 1994 he in that seat where he developed a reputation as a fair judge with a common sense approach to the law. President Bill Clinton then appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles. He was awarded 12 honorary degrees, numerous civic awards, and represented the United States on numerous goodwill trips abroad by request of the White House. Along with all of Carl Stokes great achievements, he inspired a young, black college student who was volunteered to work on his 1967 mayoral campaign to follow her dreams. He was a shining example for this young black woman, that through hard work and determination you could do the impossible. That young African American woman was me. I am able to serve here in Congress as the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives from the state of Ohio, because Carl Stokes paved the way for me and many others. If there were no Carl Stokes, there would be no Stephanie Tubbs Jones. I am truly blessed to have been able to call him and his brother my friend. So, it is my honor and privilege to recognize this significant milestone today, and simply say, thank you Carl Stokes for your courage and tenacity forty years ago, and for inspiring me to follow my dreams.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding. To the Chair of the committee, Mr. Rangel, Ranking Member McCrery, the subcommittee Chair of this trade agreement, I come from the same community as Dennis Kucinich, and I've seen the loss of jobs in Ohio, in northeast Ohio and across Ohio, from CAFTA and NAFTA. But it's my belief, having served on this committee for the past 4 years, and having had an opportunity to travel to Peru, that this is a good agreement. My newspaper used to say, Well, Stephanie, why do you travel so much? Why do you go places? What impact does it have on your voting? I said, Well, how can I make a decision on international issues if I don't travel to the country to see what's going on? And I had the opportunity to travel to Peru about 2 years ago under the leadership of Chairman Thomas, and at the time, President Toledo was the President of Peru. Ambassador Ferraro was the ambassador, and he gave me the opportunity to sit down and have a discussion with farmers, with union people and others with regard to what this agreement would do for Peru. I also happened to have a staffer whose name was Jorge Castro who was from Peru, and I had a chance also to speak with his father who was employed in that country. This is an opportunity for us to step away from the tradition, to look at a trade agreement that focuses on environmental issues, to look at a trade agreement that focuses on labor standards, and to step back and say, well, maybe this is our opportunity to say, well, here we can, once again, try and not only lift up the people of America, but to lift up the people of another country, to have a chance to talk to those farmers about growing and having something other to do than being involved in the drug trade, to have an opportunity to say to the people of Peru, it's time for a difference, and that the United States will give them an opportunity to do something different. All of my colleagues have talked about the change in labor standards, the change in environmental agreements, but I stand here, as some of my other colleagues have said, to put a face on these agreements, because it's very easy for us to step back and say, well, these jobs were lost by this. We haven't lost jobs by the Andean Trade Agreement with Peru. We have an opportunity to open doors for them and open doors for us. And I encourage my colleagues, who I have stood with, I am a 100 percent labor voter, but I stand here this evening to say, let's give them a chance, let's give them an opportunity, get broader and change our piece.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding the time. Usually I stay within the subject matter of my committee. But 30 years ago, I used to work for something called the Cleveland Regional Sewer District. It was actually water development. I thought I was going to be an environmental lawyer. I saw how much money and how much help was brought to the City of Cleveland by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act where we were able to build sewage treatment plants to treat water all across northeast Ohio. This is a comparable bill. It gives communities an opportunity to make better what is not in such good shape. At a point back in those days, we had a river that was suffering, a lot of things that were going on. The money that came into northeast Ohio made a real change about how water, how Lake Erie was given an opportunity. So I rise today to encourage my colleagues across the aisle, all of my colleagues, to support this important legislation and override the veto. Not only in Louisiana do we need this help, but we need it in northeast Ohio where we have erosion occurring on properties and small communities. We need it in Michigan. We need it all across the country. What better way to do this job and also put America back to work? Let's invest in our infrastructure. Ladies and gentlemen, all my colleagues, I encourage you to vote to override the veto and support this Water Resources Development Act.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material thereon on the subject of my Special Order tonight, which is the Second Chance Act.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I want to highlight, if I might, just a couple of programs in the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, that have been successful in community re-entry. I have served on the board of the Community Re-Entry Program under the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries for some 25 years. I remember with great glee Rev. Dick Searing, who has gone on to shine down upon us as we continue his work, as well as Charles See, who is the executive director, and a lot of the members that were on the board. We were able, through Community Re-Entry, to do a number of things, and one of those was to develop care teams, and the care teams were made of ex- offenders. And we developed these care teams such that at one point in time they were literally serving as caretakers or workers for senior citizens staying in public housing. One of the senior citizens actually said that she viewed the, we called them ``care team members,'' and they wore red jackets, and she stated how she felt about them. And she said, ``They're not criminals. They're just like my sons. And they've been taking care of me.'' The care teams were paid employees of Community Re-Entry. They received a full-time benefit package, including vacation, health insurance and pension that was fully vested after 1 year. The recidivism rate for our care team members was less than 5 percent. We also had a program under Community Re-Entry called Friend to Friend. The Friend to Friend program recruited, trained and coordinated volunteers to visit men and women in prison. Male volunteers are matched with men at Lorain Correctional and Grafton Prison located in Lorain County Ohio, and females were matched with women at the Pre- Release Center in Cleveland. The purpose of the program is to reduce socialization of people who are incarcerated and help them prepare for re-entry into the community. Because one of the dilemmas is that sometimes the penal institution is so far away from the family background, that they have a family home that they have no way of going to visit. Also, it is said that an inmate in prison is more likely to successfully re-enter if he has a support base around him when he or she returns home. Another wonderful program that we had was we started a catering service that was run by ex-offenders who prepared boxed lunches, and we were able to serve many of the downtown businesses who did box lunches. We also had a painting company, and we were able to paint many of the different houses across the county. What I would really just want to say in concluding this is that this is a unique opportunity for this Congress to step up and support a program that truly has been successful across the country. Community entry means that we will say to ex-offenders in this Nation, if you have done your time, then you have paid your commitment to the United States, the State of Ohio, whatever State you come from, and we now want to help you come back to be a productive citizen in the United States of America; paying taxes, raising families, paying child support, and really helping to make our community a better place. I am so pleased to have an opportunity, and I said, I've been waiting 30 years for the Federal Congress to come back and do what they need to do with regard to community re-entry. I thank all of my colleagues and friends for the opportunity. And I'm going to say it one more time, if we are truly going to celebrate the Bible, and my grandfather was a minister, I'm a student of the Bible, and I can name Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and go down the list, but I will say to you, the best thing that we can do is to take care of one another.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus and our Chair, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, I'm pleased to anchor this Congressional Black Caucus message hour today. Let me commend all of the original cosponsors on this piece of legislation; the lead sponsor, Danny Davis, who's joining me this evening in this Special Order; cosponsors Stephanie Tubbs Jones, John Conyers, Elijah Cummings, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Bobby Scott, Hank Johnson, Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, and the list goes on. The majority of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus are signatories to this very, very important piece of legislation. The purpose of the Second Chance Act is to reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and help States and communities to better address the growing population of prisoners returning to communities. The bill will focus on four areas: jobs, housing, substance abuse, mental health treatment and families. Nearly two-thirds of released State prisoners are expected to be arrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years of their release. Such high recidivism rates translate into thousands of new crimes each year and wasted taxpayer dollars, which can be averted through improved prisoner re-entry efforts. The Second Chance Act of 2007 allocates $360 million towards a variety of re-entry programs. One of the main components of the bill is the funding of demonstration projects that will provide ex-offenders with a coordinated continuum of housing, education, health, employment, and mentoring services. This broad array of services will provide stability and make the transition for ex-offenders easier, in turn, reducing recidivism. I sat here this evening, Mr. Speaker, and enjoyed the speeches by many of my colleagues talking about National Bible Month. I am so pleased that they chose that subject matter, and I hope that the many Members that spoke this evening about the Bible and where it specifically says ``when I was in prison you visited me,'' they will remember that their good talk and great conversation about the Bible apply to ex-offenders and that they will support the Second Chance Act. It gives me great pleasure at this time to yield to my colleague and good friend, Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Prisoner re-entry is not a democratic issue. It's not a Republican issue. It is a commonsense issue. The facts are clear. Meaningful re-entry programs significantly diminish the chances that ex-offenders will return to prison. It gives me great pleasure at this time to yield to my colleague and good friend, another leader on this issue, the Congresswoman from the great State of California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I yield to the gentleman from Vermont.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Thank you, Congressman Davis. I want to close this hour with just a few comments.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I have been waiting 30 years for Congress to enact meaningful reentry legislation, as I have been deeply involved in prison reentry programs since my days as a municipal court judge, common plea judge, and county prosecutor in Cleveland. While prosecutor, I helped to establish the Pretrial Diversion program, as well as the Municipal Drug Court program. And I am so happy to be able to say that it's my understanding that the drug court program in Cleveland is going to move from the municipal court to expand to the common pleas court so it is county-wide. Both programs, I'm proud to say, still exist and continue to help ex-offenders move on with their lives and become productive citizens. The State of Ohio has one of the largest populations of ex-offenders reentering the community, with about 24,000 ex-offenders returning to their respective communities annually. Of those ex-offenders, about 6,000 will return to Cuyahoga County, my county, and almost 5,000 will reenter in the City of Cleveland. Statewide about 40 percent of ex- offenders will return to prison. In Cuyahoga County about 41 percent will return. Such high recidivism rates translate into thousands of new crimes each year and wasted taxpayer dollars. Today I am proud to stand with my colleague Danny Davis as an original cosponsor of the Second Chance Act of 2007. This legislation is forward-thinking. It provides opportunities for all the Members of Congress who sincerely believe in helping their brother or their sister in times of need to support this legislation. It gives me great pleasure to yield to the lead sponsor of the Second Chance Act, Danny Davis of Illinois, and say to him, Danny, thank you for your leadership on this issue. I'm proud to join with you around the work that we have been doing on behalf of ex-offenders across the Nation.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. And if the gentlemen would yield, that legislation prohibits offenders who have drug convictions from getting student loans. So if they wanted to go back to school and change their lives, we've got legislation that prohibits them from having the opportunity to go back to college.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 1014, I was speaking to a group of students from my own district on the Capitol steps. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, it gives me great pleasure to come to the floor in support of this great legislation. I want to say I am so proud of the Chair of the Small Business Committee. She was my first ranking member when I came to the Congress back in 1999, and I had the opportunity to serve on the Small Business Committee along with Financial Services. We have all been talking about small businesses and how important it is, and it is all right to talk about it. But if you don't do anything about it, that presents a problem. I think about the district that I represent, the greater Cleveland area, and the need we have to do economic development in the City of Cleveland. I am so glad this legislation focuses in on some of those areas. I represent a district that is 52 percent African American, and it is important that African American businesses in my congressional district have an opportunity to sit at the public too and receive some of those dollars in terms of developing their businesses. One of the things that has happened over the years is being a minority business has gotten so good, there are people who perpetrate. That means they pretend they are a minority business. They will get a minority to stand in the front of their business, and the business is really a majority business. Or they will get a woman to stand in front, and it is really a majority business. And this legislation focuses in on the fraud. I am so happy because there are so many businesses that deserve an opportunity to do business with the Federal Government. In addition, there are so many other areas of focus that this chairwoman has put a focus on around small business. If we really believe that small business is the engine that pushes and grows America, let's give small businesses the train to push it. I thank her for her leadership. I thank her for an opportunity to speak this afternoon. I encourage all of my colleagues from the Democrats, as well as the Republican, who truly believe that small business needs a leg up to support this legislation.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 1017 I was meeting with representatives of the Turkish community. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the topic of my Special Order.