As America's Economy Recovers, Criminal Justice Reform Can Provide a Boost

     Criminal justice reform will be a priority this 117th Congress, especially this spring. Already, private prison contracts with the federal government have resulted in 5,000 inmates being transferred while the implementation of the First Step Act has provided early release for thousands more. Nearly 200 judicial nominees are on track to be confirmed this session, more than virtually any in United States history, including the completed confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first black woman and the first public defender to serve on SCOTUS. Hate crimes laws have been drastically overhauled with the signing of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act needs to be signed into law, but, whether or not it is, executive action on police reform will be taken.

     This spring, the focus will be on drug policy, in particular. Just last week, it was brought to light that the EQUAL Act has 10 Republican cosponsors, which means that, if Democrats hold the line, the bill will become law. This historic legislation would end the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity; until the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, a conviction for crack resulted in a sentence 100 times as harsh as a sentence for cocaine. The FSA reduced that number to 18 times as harsh; the EQUAL Act would eliminate the difference and allow thousands of prisoners who received excessive punishments to be released. This bill would save the United States government hundreds of millions of dollars, money that can be spent on projects like the COPS Program, which got a $130 million boost in the 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Act, and Community Violence Intervention programs (CVIs), which got a $50 million boost. These two strategies have been proven to reduce crime, further easing the burden on our criminal justice system, saving taxpayer dollars, and allowing individuals to become productive contributors to America's economy while reducing the financial costs both direct (i.e. property damage and loss of life) and indirect (the tendency of businesses and financial institutions to avoid high-crime areas) of crime.

     Then there's marijuana. A new report revealed that the 18 states that have legalized marijuana saw $3.7 billion in tax revenue alone in 2021. At an average of $200 million per state per year, the legalization of marijuana nationwide would bring in $10 billion in tax revenue to states every year, money that can be used to cut taxes, invest in education and infrastructure, pay off debt, or whatever else state governments feel is best to boost their economies; that doesn't even include a potential federal tax. Marijuana makes up the majority of drug arrests, which make up the majority of arrests overall. Legalizing marijuana would drastically cut prison populations and allow better enforcement against violent crime. That's just on the government level. Legalizing marijuana nationwide could create millions of good-paying jobs. Even costs would be lowered: marijuana provides an alternative to pain medication and other drugs that drive the opioid epidemic and are responsible for most bankruptcies. We've seen progress since January 2021: nearly 20 states have legalized recreational or medical marijuana or decriminalized the use of the former, with much more to come.

     Congress is considering the SAFE Banking Act, a bill with broad bipartisan support that would increase investments in the legal marijuana industry by allowing banks that operate across the country to invest in the industry in states where it is legal. Meanwhile, there's a bill called the MORE Act that would do much more and decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. It is a priority for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and he is working to get bipartisan support for the bill.

     America has already created a record eight million jobs and cut its budget deficit in half while growing its GDP by 5.7 percent in just over a year. The aforementioned criminal justice reforms will give this historic economic recovery a boost at a time when an overwhelming majority of Americans support all three of these proposals. The House has already passed all three: it's time for the Senate to get it done.