3) "Also, earlier today, the Department of Labor — Alex, that's good; he's done a great job. (Laughter.) He's done a good job. Awarded $2 million to states to support "fidelity bonds," which underwrite companies that hire former prisoners."
4) "We are expanding our Second Chance Pell Grant Pilot Program to allow individuals to use their time in prison to take college-level classes. (Applause.) That's great. That's great. That's great."
5a) and 5b) [...] "Our administration is also working to allow rehabilitated citizens with a criminal record to apply for both federal government jobs and affordable housing — something that we were unable to do before." (Applause.)
How about items 6) and 7)? Private initiatives that were encouraged by or launched in response to this (First Step act as much or more than but perhaps also today's Second Chance) work, I hope you'll want to read all the background section but you can search inside this email for the next 6) and 7) (believe it or not I'm still cutting out a lot of the transcript) below them..URLs of Video and of Transcript near bottom of email.
From these, more extensive excepts.
The key Background:
4:21 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please, please. Great occasion.
I want to welcome everyone to the White House. We're here today to announce a vital new action that we're taking to help former inmates find a job, live a crime-free life, and succeed beyond their wildest dreams. (Applause.)
And this afternoon, we're very grateful to have many distinguished guests, including Secretary Alex Acosta. Alex, thank you very much. (Applause.) Governor Phil Bryant. Thank you, Phil, very much, very much. (Applause.) Governor Bill Lee. We just spent some time together. Tennessee. (Applause.)
And, I have to say, my administration is focused on lifting up all Americans. And that's exactly what we're doing with this.
As part of our working families agenda, we've expanded apprenticeships and job training, we've delivered historic tax cuts — the biggest ever in the history of our country — and regulatory reform, and we've increased access to affordable healthcare and childcare. So it's been really important. (Applause.) Thank you.
And as a result of the booming economy, we're bringing Americans who have been on the sidelines back into the workforce, including former inmates and those recovering from opioid addiction. Very important. And it's been incredible, the success we've had.
Since the election, we've created 6 million new jobs. We've added more than a million new jobs in manufacturing, construction, and steel alone. And everyone said that was going to be an impossibility to do — manufacturing jobs.
African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American unemployment have reached the lowest levels and the lowest rates in history of our country. It's been an incredible situation.
Our policies are rebuilding lives, rebuilding families, and rebuilding communities.
To realize America's full potential, we must unlock the talents of every single citizen. We want to lift every American family out of poverty and into a future of hope and opportunity.
In December of last year, I signed into law groundbreaking and historic reform to our criminal justice system: the FIRST STEP Act. (Applause.) That's terrific. Great. Great. That's terrific. Thank you. Thank you very much. I think you like it. (Laughter.)
It is true though, since we've got it passed, nobody realized how tough it was. They've been trying to do it for many years. And — many, many years. And nobody thought they could do it. And we got it done. But we had tremendous conservative support and tremendous liberal support. It was very bipartisan. Some of the most conservative people — I know Mike Lee was in favor of it and Chuck Grassley was in favor of it. And then, on the other side, you had people that, frankly, I didn't think would be signing too many of the things that I wanted to do. Phil Bryant, you know? (Laughter.)
But they all wanted it. And it's something that I'm very proud of. And Jared and Ivanka were incredible. And they really pushed it. (Applause.) It's true. And I think they were being pushed a little bit also by Kim Kardashian. She's right here. (Applause.) So, thank you, Kim. And Kanye. Thank you.
Since its passage [First Step Act], more than a dozen states have advanced similar reforms at the state level. Now we must make sure that Americans returning from prison get a true second chance. Right?
America wins when citizens with a criminal record can contribute to their communities as law-abiding members of our society. When former inmates come home, the single-most important action we can take is to help them find a really, really good job, where they love the job, they want to go there, and they're making a lot money. Right? And that's what's happening. And that's because of a lot of reasons, including the people in this room. But it's also because we have a great economy.
And some people that wouldn't have normally made that choice, they've made that choice and they are so happy. I'm talking about employers. They are so happy they can't even believe it. They've got — one man told me some of the best people that work for him now came out of prison. And these are people that a few years ago, they — he would not have given a chance. And now he considers them among his best people.
Too often, former inmates are not considered for jobs even if they're qualified, rehabilitated, and ready to work. And that's why we're taking crucial steps to encourage business to expand second chance hiring practices. (Applause.)
So when we say "hire American," we mean all Americans. And that's what's happening. (Applause.) First time, probably, ever. (Applause.)
And I think I can say, truly — and a lot of the folks in the room are experts and you've been doing this for a long time — but I think it's probably the first time we can truly say that in the history of our country that that's happening. So it's really been fantastic.
The unemployment rate for former inmates is up to five times higher than the national average. My administration has set an ambitious goal: We want to cut the unemployment rate for these individuals to single digits within five years. And we think there's a really good chance of doing it. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you.
Second chance hiring is about safer communities, a stronger workforce, and a thriving economy. We believe in the dignity of work and the pride of a paycheck.
(A) [...] Here with us today is Johnny Koufos [..] A lawyer who served time in prison for an alcohol-related accident and
now runs a re-entry program. He's done incredibly well.
(B) [...] Our administration is also working to allow rehabilitated citizens with a criminal record to apply for both federal government jobs and affordable housing — something that we were unable to do before. (Applause.)
Here with us today is Marcus Bullock, who went to prison as a minor in 1996 and now runs a technology company. And he's doing a very good job. Marcus, please come up and say hello.
(C) Today, we're also joined by many employers who are hiring former inmates and helping us build the strongest economy on Earth. We have some very successful people in this room, and we appreciate it all very much. Thank you very much. Great job. (Applause.)
Among the leaders who join us today is Steve Preston, the CEO of
Goodwill. Goodwill employs and provides training and other services for
more than 100,000 former inmates each and every year. Steve, I want to thank you for the devotion and all that you do for a second chance.
MR. PRESTON: All right. Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, for your leadership and the FIRST STEP Act, and for working with Congress to pass this in a bipartisan fashion. That just sounds great, doesn't it?
THE PRESIDENT: It sounds great.
MR. PRESTON: Yeah, it really does. Because we know that it's not an issue of one side of the aisle or the other. It's an issue for the entire country. And now we all get to work together to ensure that we truly give people, who are coming back home, a real second chance.
[....]
6) First of two Private initiatives inspired by First Step/Second Chance--Getting that job after prison:
We're also glad to have with us the President of the Society for Human Resource Management, Johnny Taylor. And where's Johnny? Where's Johnny? Come here, Johnny. (Laughter.) Johnny. This guy is some guy and some athlete, that I can tell you.
So maybe you could just talk a little bit about what we're doing and how well you're doing with it, right? Thank you, Johnny.
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. TAYLOR: So I vividly remember December 2018, waking up one morning and reading in the newspaper that Congress had signed — had passed, and the President had signed, the FIRST STEP Act. I literally did not believe that would ever happen. (Laughter.) And, I mean, so much so that I got up and said, "I can't believe it. Like, he said he'd do it. But I didn't think it would happen." And here we were.
And I realized there were so many people who had worked behind the scenes, people like Mark Holden, who's here in the room from Koch Industries. So many of you had worked to make this a reality.
And the first thing I thought was: What can I do as an American to do my part in this? I represent an organization called the Society for Human Resource Management, and we represent 300,000 HR people across the globe. Our companies employ 115 million people every day. And so we said, "There's some role that we must be able to play."
And, instantly, it hit me: What's the next step? What we know is that once people get out, too often — get out of incarceration — too often they return because they can't find a job. These aren't bad people; they're people who are trying to survive. And we can play a role in that if we can help remove some of the barriers — those barriers that lead to high levels of recidivism. Again, no one wants to go back.
And so what we needed to do is figure out how we could play a role — the country's human resource professionals — to remove the barrier of employment. And so we're bringing back people back into the workplace.
So, I went back to my team; it was, of course, a week before Christmas, and they said, "Wait a minute. What? You want me to work over the weekend?" I said, "Yes." Mark Holden and his team, Jenny. Jenny is in the room. Thank you, Jenny. We all said we'd work together on the weekend with my Chief of Staff and our team, and we came up with an idea.
Over literally a one-week period, we launched a website called "Getting Talent Back to Work." And we got 1,500 employers across this country to immediately sign to join the movement because we needed employers to commit. It wasn't enough to get people out of incarceration; we needed to get them employed. In a very short period of time, after announcing it with Charles Koch, Richard Branson, myself, we had people just signing up.
And so now, all of a sudden, Mr. President, your goal — your goal of getting that five times the number down to single digits — we're going to do it. And the Society for Human Resource Management. (Applause.) SHRM and our 300,000 members are committed. We're going to play our role. We're going to be warriors to get these warriors back to work. Thank you. God bless you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Johnny. He'll do it too.
[...]
7) Second of two Private initiatives inspired by First Step/Second Chance--Getting that job after prison:
PRESIDENT TRUMP: This afternoon, we also have an exciting announcement to ensure former inmates can overcome some of the greatest barriers to employment, including limited access to transportation, which is needed for interviews and for jobs.
To make this announcement, I'd like to invite up a very special guest and a powerful advocate for not only justice reform, but just a good person. And I hear she's starting to study law. She's also one of the most successful people in the entertainment business. Soon she'll be one of the most successful lawyers[..]she's got good genes — that I can tell you. Good genes for everything. And she's been a real friend, and her husband has been a real friend of mine. Kim Kardashian West. (Applause.)
MS. KARDASHIAN WEST: Hi. It really is such an honor to be here
today, so thank you. My whole journey with criminal justice reform
started about a year ago when I came to see the President, after
speaking to Ivanka and Jared — who really fought for me to get here —
and I pled the case of Alice Johnson, who the President granted clemency
to.[
Why Kim Kardashian wanted President Trump to free me (Opinion ... https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/
And after that, I really spent so much time going to different prisons because I really had no connection to anybody on the inside and
really just felt like, for me, I am at the place in my life that I
wanted to make a difference and just wanted to do the right thing, but I
didn't know how or what to do, or even really what was going on. And so after going to visit so many different prisons and really
sitting down with lifers, with every situation you can possibly imagine,
my heart just completely opened up and I wanted to do more. So I
started to study the law, which is law school [..]
[..] I learned so much just, basically, working on memos and being the assistant to them [two lawyers she's working with] while the FIRST STEP Act was happening, and like learning how you get bills passed, and working on it from the ground up. So to get the President's support and to see it come to fruition was magic.
And the one thing that I just realized that needed so much support, that I'm happy to help and be supportive where I can, was the reentry of people coming home and seeing the lack of support that really existed. Whether it's housing or the amount of letters that I get with people just needing transportation to job interviews, to jobs — these people want to work. They want the best outcome. And I'm so happy to be here today amongst people that want the same thing and that really believe in supporting their reentry.
So I'm so happy to announce today that we have a rideshare partnership where formerly incarcerated people will be gifted gift cards so that they can get rides to and from job interviews, to and from jobs, family members, and that is so important — so needed.
And I just want to thank the President for really standing behind this issue. And seeing the compassion that he's had for criminal justice has been really remarkable. So I just want to thank all of the organizations that are partnering with everything that's going on and really being supportive, because it really does mean a lot to so many people that I've had the pleasure to speak to. And I think the ultimate goal is everyone wants the community to be safe. And the more opportunity that we have and that they have, and the support that we help give them, the safer everyone will be. And the recidivism rate will be — continue to just get lower. And so, I'm just thankful to everyone here that's in support, and so proud of this partnership with the rideshare organization. So, thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Kim. Thank you. Great
[...]
Concluding Remarks included:
PRESIDENT TRUMP: And together, we are expanding the blessings of America for every citizen, from every background, from every community, and every walk of life.
We are breaking down old barriers, tearing down yesterday's obstacles, and replacing the failures of the past with the bright and limitless future. That's what we have going. It's a limitless future.
So many people in this room and so many people outside of this room — they're given a second and, in some cases, a third chance, in all fairness. And I will say, they are really, really producing. It's a great thing to watch
[...] THE PRESIDENT: We really appreciate your being here. And we'll not stop until everyone in our national family can achieve their own beautiful American Dream.
I want to thank everybody for being here. God bless you. God bless America. I very much appreciate it. Thank you all very much. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 4:56 P.M. EDT
The two URLs --video and transcript:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
President Trump Delivers Remarks on Second Chance Hiring
Here are some comments I found of Trump supporters on the Second Chance Hiring video. Of course there are some hard core right-wingers who want the poor white and non-white to just suffer and don't want to help them even after prison but I think these comment debunk the idea that that is representative of most/typical Trump voters:
