WASHINGTON — President Bush on Wednesday reached across traditional political lines to sign into law a broad program that provides federal grants for assistance to ex-convicts, pointing to his own struggle with alcohol addiction as an example of redemption.
During a signing ceremony, the president was flanked by lawmakers from both parties, including frequent foe John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., a key backer of the Second Chance Act.
“We believe that even those who have struggled with a dark past can find brighter days ahead,” Bush said in his remarks, which included numerous references to renewal and a brief mention of his own vow years ago to quit drinking.
The new law has broad support among prisoner-advocacy groups, liberal criminal-justice organizations and many Democrats who otherwise differ with Bush or his policies.
The law would provide $326 million in grants to local governments and nonprofit groups for various programs aimed at departing or former convicts, including housing and medical assistance, drug treatment and employment services. Appropriations for the grants still await approval by Congress and Bush, however.
The compromise allows “faith-based” nonprofit groups to receive grants but would not include direct participation by churches, temples or other purely religious entities, officials said.
Davis, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who has represented his Chicago district since 1997, said a compromise was reached because both Democrats and Republicans agree that more needs to be done to accommodate the 650,000 people released from U.S. prisons and jails each year.
