,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fjee  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #b1 #bjbj,mr4 
,lewis introduced the following bill2   
which was referred to the ,committee on 
the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend    
title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 to    
encourage the placement of released     
,federal prisoners in residential       
reentry centers near their homes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,community ,reentry ,act of #bjbj4  
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds as        
follows3 7#a7 ,researchers find that    
visitation from family and community    
members help mitigate recidivism rates  
among incarcerated individuals4         
,removing geographical barriers for     
inmates hoping to stay in touch with    
their families or members of their      
community may help lower recidivism     
rates4 ,these continued relationships   
alleviate the risk of challenges such as
 unemployment1 homelessness1 and debt   
upon release4  7#b7 ,in a study of      

inmates jailed close to home1 the ,vera 
,institute of ,justice found that most  
participants rely on family support to  
stay off of drugs and maintain          
requirements of parole as well as care  
for children4  7#c7 ,according to the   
,vera study1 more than #hj percent of   
jailed respondents rely on family for   
support and more than #gj percent rely  
on friends4 ,even while incarcerated1   
inmates continue to rely heavily on     
their family and community outside of   
prison for basic needs and survival4    
7#d7 ,family members report that        
distance is the greatest barrier to     
visiting incarcerated relatives while   
costs1 such as transportation1 follows4 
,by removing geographical and cost      
barriers1 family members of the         
incarcerated may have an opportunity to 
maintain a relationship with their      
incarcerated loved one4  7#e7           
,incarcerated persons should be afforded
 opportunities to change and heal4      
,strengthening relationships between    

inmates and the family and community    
members they have left behind will help 
decrease recidivism rates and heal      
fragmented familial and community       
relationships4  #c4 ,prerelease custody 
,section #cfbd7;c77#a7 of title #ah1    
,united ,states ,code1 is amended by    
adding at the end the following3        
,subject to the availability of         
appropriations and of bed space         
availability1 the ,director shall place 
a prisoner in a residential reentry     
center that is within #ej miles of the  
prisoner's previous or anticipated      
permanent legal address1 except when the
 prisoner waives his right to be placed 
in such a center for reasons such as--  
7,a7 safety of the prisoner or his      
family2  7,b7 physical or mental health2
 or  7,c7 any other reason deemed to be 
acceptable by the ,director4  4