Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Tuesday said the 2016 election cycle is one of the reasons criminal justice reform has stalled in Congress.
When asked at the Washington Post’s Criminal Justice Summit in Washington, D.C., if there is hope for bipartisan criminal justice reform following positive strides made by Congress in the spring, Lynch cited the political nature of the nation’s capital as a reason for the lack of progress.
“Are you saying that D.C.’s a political town? And that the timing might be impacted by that?” Lynch said to laughs from the crowd.
She added: “That’s just the reality of Washington, D.C.”
Lynch added that in the conversations she has with members of both parties regarding criminal justice reform, she has been “tremendously heartened.”
“We have to have a criminal justice system that is able to honestly examine itself … to see when we have made a mistake and in fact take action. That’s one way to build trust,” she said. “We have bipartisan support … that could really go a long way in restoring fundamental fairness to our system.”
Lynch, the first African-American woman to hold the attorney general position, explained that as Congress stalls in criminal justice reform, states are making their own strides.
In praising the states, Lynch announced new Justice Department grants. She announced $5.8 million would be given to six state entities under the DOJ’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative. The state agencies receiving the money, such as a department of corrections, will be able to specifically look at issues that pertain to them and then work to correct them.
Lynch also announced $14 million to be given to 40 different state jurisdictions for adult courts.
The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act in the Senate was the top piece of bipartisan legislation that stalled ahead of Congress’ summer recess. Congress is back in session for five weeks during September and the beginning of October, and lawmakers then leave again until after the election.
The legislation passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but in May, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., refused to put it on the Senate floor in favor of other bills.
The House Judiciary Committee has moved more slowly on its criminal justice reform bills. Supporters wanted the bills to be on the House floor as a package, but that also failed to happen ahead of the summer recess.
