House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is set to work with President Obama this year on the issue of criminal justice reform.
According to Politico:
Ryan said in the interview he believes the GOP will craft a criminal justice reform plan in the next six months, a major development in the party’s agenda. He said he has spoken with Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho), a key figure in the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
“The silly season is going to kick in pretty fast,” Ryan said of the campaign for the White House. “I think criminal justice reform is probably the biggest [issue] we can make a difference on. … There’s a real way forward on that.”
Similarly, President Obama is expected to make criminal justice reform a major issue in his final State of the Union address. One of President Obama’s guests at the address will be ex-convict Sue Ellen Allen.
She spent seven years as an inmate in an Arizona prison and now offers resources to women in prison. She will be there to help highlight the issue of criminal justice reform, which the Obama administration hopes will be part of the president’s legacy.
According to Buzzfeed:
Criminal justice is set to be a huge part of that legacy and get a prominent place in the speech. The Obama administration has linked with conservatives and liberals to push changes to the justice system aimed at reducing the number of people put in prison and the length of time nonviolent offenders spend there, and reducing the costs associated with a system that houses more inmates than any other country on Earth.