House Judiciary Committee Tackles Issues Facing Newly Released Criminals

Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

The House Judiciary Committee is seeking new approaches to facilitate the reentry of released criminals into society by ending the funding of inefficient programs and diminishing the collateral consequences of conviction that contribute to recidivism.

“Over 95% of currently incarcerated individuals will be released into communities and about 2/3 will recidivate within 3 years,” said Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Ranking Republican Member of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

At a hearing on Wednesday, the barriers facing ex-offenders were discussed, in addition to possible solutions to the issue.

Federal law requires background checks, and mandates disqualification of applicants based on convictions in almost every field of occupation. However, a recent study done by the Department of Justice revealed that 50% of criminal records are inaccurate.

Ex-offenders are also denied access to education education and housing because of criminal records.

Expungement of criminal records, excluding sex offenders, was a widely discussed solution. House Judiciary Committee member Steve Cohen (D-Tenn) proposed the “Fresh Start Act.” If passed, it would expunge the record of individuals convicted of non-violent crimes after a period of 7 years in an attempt to end collateral consequences.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) reiterated the importance of criminal rehabilitation and reentry into society, and announced his plans for a full committee hearing in Detroit during the recess in August.

Bridging IT Gap Is Key To Government Modernization, Says Orszag

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

Peter Orszag, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, believes that bridging the information technology (IT) gap between the government and private sector is “the single most important step we can take in creating a more efficient and productive federal government.”

“President Obama has undertaken a far-reaching effort to modernize and reform government,” said Orszag during remarks at the Center for American Progress Tuesday. “The IT gap is the key differentiator between our efforts to modernize government and those that have come before.”

Orszag emphasized the importance of aligning the government sector with the private, and outlined ways in which increased IT benefits the efficiency of federal agencies.

For example, the Department of Homeland Security has added an online tracking service for visa and citizenship applications where users can go online to check the status of their applications without having to send letters in the mail and wait for a response.

The government is also using IT to increase the sharing of information between agencies to reduce the $100 billion a year of improper payments, which is especially important to Medicare, where the largest problems of improper payments occur.

“In months ahead, we will be looking to unveil more of these technology-driven solutions,” said Orszag, who added that closing the IT gap will “increase productivity and responsiveness, efficiency and customer service” within the federal government.”

Investigation Of Flotilla Raid Is Neccessary Says Expert

By Sarah Mamula- Talk Radio News Service

Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, commented on the recent events of the Gaza-bound flotilla, claiming that not enough is known about what he calls, "a disaster," and urges an investigation into Israel's actions.

"For all intents and purposes, all we know is that there were civilians and that they were in international waters," Telhami said. "I think we should have an investigation to find out what exactly happened, who was behind it, and what transpired on board."

Despite the lack of concrete information surrounding the Israeli commando raid, Telhami firmly believes aggressive action was the wrong approach.

"Regardless of the circumstances, confronting a civilian boat in a manner that could lead to the death of civilians is wrong. I think that clearly what transpired here is very hard to explain on the part of the Israelis."

The expert went on to speak about the importance of the United States' diplomatic role in this "immediate crisis," but also emphasized that an alternative to the Gaza blockade must be found.

"Everyone in the international community has been calling for more goods to go into Gaza. Even the U.S. says the blockade is not sustainable the way it is now," Telhami said.