Reforming America’s criminal justice system has long been a priority for Barack Obama. In The Audacity of Hope, written a decade ago, Obama lamented the “black men filling our prisons” and bemoaned how the “stigma of a prison record” can make it all but impossible for ex-felons to find employment. He complained about employers that “aren’t willing to take a chance on ex-felons, and [that] those who are willing are often prevented from doing so.” Obama even offered some ideas about how the public and private sectors could work together to “kick-start a transformation of circumstances for” ex-felons.

Over the last decade, Obama hasn’t done very much to advance the cause of criminal justice reform. But that changed this week. In a series of events, the president highlighted the need for reform and pushed for action from a Congress that now seems ready to act.