Second Chances

Floor Speech

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Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss second chances.

Across our Nation, one in three adults have an arrest or conviction that makes it difficult to find a job.

Take Kevin Miller, for example, who was incarcerated for 8 months in 1992 after a minor altercation with police officers.

Kevin was only 19 at the time, but more than a quarter century later, Kevin hasn't been able to get a steady job because he must disclose his arrest on every job application.

Michael Mirsky faced similar hardships. He lost his job as a Verizon technician in 2012 after he pled guilty to resisting arrest during a disagreement over child support payments. In the years following the incident, he faced foreclosure of his home, and even as the economy improved and more and more jobs became available, Mr. Mirsky was unable to find a permanent job and start rebuilding his life.

Mr. Speaker, stories like Kevin's and Michael's are all too common. In fact, more than 70 million Americans have minor criminal records that they must disclose on job applications. As a result, millions of Americans have been turned down from countless jobs for mistakes made decades ago.

The reluctance of employers to hire people with criminal records, combined with job applications that contain check-the-box measures, has detrimental effects on the economy and prevents millions of Americans from becoming productive members of society.

In addition, excluding people with minor criminal records from the workforce, often results in their return to crime and to drugs.

That is why I am proud to cosponsor the Fair Chance Act, which prohibits the Federal Government and Federal contractors from asking about a job applicant's prior criminal record before a conditional offer of employment. This process humanizes applicants and gives them a chance to meet employers face to face and explain their past before employers make a sweeping judgment based on one checked box.

Mr. Speaker, America is a land of second chances. Barriers to employment should not follow a person long after they have served time, paid their debt to society, and started a new life. People deserve the freedom to redeem themselves.

As my colleagues go to conference over the NDAA, I urge them to include this legislation as part of any final deal.

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