,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #aaih  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,october #bj1   
#bjbj,mr4 ,rush submitted the following 
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,education and ,labor     
,,resolution  ,calling on ,states to    
implement ban the box legislation4      
,whereas systemic racism within the     
criminal justice system has led to deep 
racial disparities within the population
 of ,americans with felony convictions2 
,whereas a #bjag study from the         
,university of ,georgia found that while
 #h percent of all ,americans have a    
felony conviction1 #cc percent of       
,african-,american males have been      
convicted of a felony2 ,whereas the     
,equal ,employment ,opportunity         
,commission recommends that employers   
refrain from asking about conviction    
history on job applications and limit   
their queries to job-related convictions
 or convictions that would be consistent
 with business necessities if they      

choose to ask these questions2 ,whereas 
a #bjah report from the ,brookings      
,institution found that one-third of all
 #cj-year-old men in the ,united ,states
 who reported no annual earnings are    
either incarcerated or formerly         
incarcerated2 ,whereas the #bjah        
,brookings ,institution report found    
that while only #di percent of prime-age
 men were employed #b years prior to    
their incarceration1 #de percent of     
former prisoners reported no earnings in
 the year after their release2 ,whereas 
a #bjjc study in the ,american ,journal 
of ,sociology found that stating a      
criminal record on a job application    
reduces the likelihood of an employer   
calling back a potential employee by #ej
 percent2 ,whereas eliminating questions
 about an applicant's criminal history  
on their initial applications would     
allow job applicants a fair hearing with
 potential employers2 ,whereas #ac      
,states already prohibit private        
employers from asking questions about a 

job applicant's conviction history2     
,whereas an analysis by the ,prison     
,policy ,initiative found that1 in      
#bjjh1 #bg percent of formerly          
incarcerated individuals were           
unemployed1 compared to just #e4b       
percent of the overall population2      
,whereas the racial disparities in the  
,united ,states criminal justice system 
are reflected in our current employment 
statistics1 as in the second quarter of 
#bjai1 #f4a percent of ,african         
,americans were unemployed1 compared to 
an overall unemployment rate of #c4e    
percent during the same quarter2 and    
,whereas barring employers from         
inquiring about an applicant's history  
in the initial application process does 
not affect their ability to conduct     
background checks later in the hiring   
process3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that-- 
7#a7 it is the sense of the ,house of   
,representatives that inquiries related 
to conviction history during the initial
 processes of employment have the effect

 of deterring employers from hiring     
those seeking to build productive lives 
within the ,american workforce after    
their convictions and should be         
prohibited2 and  7#b7 the ,house of     
,representatives calls on ,states to    
implement ban the box legislation4