REDEEM Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment Act of 2014 or the REDEEM Act - Amends the federal criminal code to provide a process for the sealing or expungement of records relating to nonviolent or juvenile offenses.
Requires a court considering a petition to seal a nonviolent offense to balance factors including the harm of the protected information to the ability of the petitioner to secure and maintain employment.
Sets forth limitations on involuntary room confinements at juvenile detention facilities.
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) to remove offenses relating to possession or use of a controlled substance from the categories of drug offenses that result in the convicted individual being ineligible for assistance under: (1) a state program funded with temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) grants under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act; or (2) the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program) or any state program carried out under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
Prohibits the denial of such assistance and benefits if the convicted individual: (1) committed an offense related to a substance abuse disorder, (2) participates in a substance abuse treatment program, and (3) complies with all court-imposed obligations. Includes employment services among the categories of federal benefits that are not to be denied under PRWORA. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow the Attorney General, in awarding public safety and community policing grants, to give preferential consideration to an applicant in a state with laws similar to this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 8, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 8, 2014: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced it on July 8, 2014, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 8, 2014, 4447 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4447 days ago, on July 8, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers