As COVID-19 spread across America, the CARES Act allowed federal prisons to transfer to home confinement thousands of incarcerated men and women who posed no threat to their communities, easing prison overcrowding at a critical time when the virus was ravaging prison populations.
This home-confinement policy was a tremendous success beyond reducing COVID’s spread. Historically, 42 percent of federal inmates commit additional crimes within the first few years of release. Only 0.18 percent committed other crimes under the CARES Act’s home-confinement policy.
It’s bewildering that 24 Senate Republicans support a resolution that threatens to return many CARES Act-released individuals back to prison — despite only a tiny percentage committing new crimes.
Republicans who historically support principled, fiscally responsible policies should recognize that the home-confinement policy helps individuals build new lives and makes communities safer, all while saving taxpayers money.
Former attorney general William Barr established the home-confinement eligibility criteria. Ultimately, 13,204 individuals were vetted and sent home, where they were subject to electronic monitoring, in-person supervision, check-ins, and alcohol and drug testing. The CARES Act was not an early release program; it required criminals to serve their sentences under supervision and with limitations.
Barr’s vetting process resulted in a minuscule threat to public safety. In the past three-plus years of the more than 13,000 inmates released to home confinement, only 27 have committed additional crimes, saving significant tax dollars. According to the Bureau of Prisons, it costs $120.59 daily to incarcerate a federal inmate. Home confinement costs $55.26 daily, saving taxpayers hundreds of millions.
Senate Republicans should recognize good policy as good politics. Data-driven policies like the CARES Act home confinement are supported among conservative voters. A recent survey revealed that 86 percent of Republicans said policies like the First Step Act, which incentivizes federal inmates to participate in job training and elective rehabilitative programming, match or nearly match their personal views.
Our response to COVID deserves scrutiny to make permanent successful policies and prevent a repeat of our mistakes. It is hoped lawmakers at the federal, state and local levels will do so responsibly, and the 2024 presidential election will provide a platform for a substantive discussion. But any effort to mischaracterize the success of CARES home confinement, or repeal it, is not only misguided, it is a waste of resources — and that just isn’t conservative.
