With the death of the Representative who brought this Bill forward, we should all move on in her name the fight for this. The idea of reinstituting federal parole is one that should not be left by the wayside, even during this election year. I urge all of you to visit the websites below, contact your current House Representative and also those that are candidates in your area. Speak to them frankly, ask if they would support this bill if they are elected. Offer a vote in their favor if they will. Let's not let this die.



http://www.november.org/projects/relief/hr5296.html

http://www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml

Thanks for the link, Kalysse. Remember foreign prisoners. Families can't make a petition, only stay at home, thousands of miles and thousands of dollars away from their loved ones.

At least we would expect a positive attitude towards early deportation or transfer of prisoners to their countries of origin. It's an absolute non-sense to maintain a lonely prisoner who will never restore family ties since they have no visits, will never be reinserted in the US community, will never have the opportunity of half-way house, boot camp or any plan for rehabilitation.

Un abrazo,
Andrés

In regard to H.R. 5296, I received a written response to my inquiry on the status of this proposed legislation from my Congressman, Richard H. Baker, of Louisiana.
He informed me that "Currently, this legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Subcommitee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security".

For those of you, like myself, whose loved ones are federal offendors, I encourage you to continue to write to the members of this commitee expressing your support for this bill and the representatives of your individual states in Washington D.C. Our united voice is loud and should be heard.

The names and addresses of the members of this subcommittee were listed on a prior post.

I have sent letters to each of the 2 senators from Florida, a while back...I am yet to receive a response but will post if and when I do.

Yes, please everyone this bill needs our help. Mrs. Mink firmly believed in this bill and it is now up to us to help carry it forward. HR 5296 also needs to have two amendments added to it. One - that it is retroactive Two- that it also apply to those serving minimum mandatory sentences. Which we know are mainly drug offenders. We need to have someone pick up the sponsoring of this bill or most likely it will die a quiet death. Now is the time to get involved and call or email anyone and everyone to get this bill passed. It was heard thru the prison grapevine that Rep. Maxine Waters (dem. CA) might be interested in picking it up. I haven't been able to confirm this but maybe if enough of us write her and show our support, she'll back it. WE NEED SPONSORS!!

Select Committee on Homeland Security
H226
Washington, DC 20515-6480
(202) 225-6600

Republican
1. Richard K. Armey , TX, Chairman
2. Tom DeLay , TX
3. J. C. Watts Jr., OK
4. Deborah Pryce , OH
5. Rob Portman , OH

Democrat
1. Nancy Pelosi , CA
2. Martin Frost , TX
3. Robert Menendez , NJ
4. Rosa L. DeLauro , CT

Richard K. Armey
Majority Leader
Texas-26th, Republican
301 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515-4326
Phone: (202) 225-7772

Tom DeLay
Majority Whip
Texas-22nd, Republican
2370 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-4322
Phone: (202) 225-5951

J. C. Watts Jr.
Oklahoma-4th, Republican
1007 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3604
Phone: (202) 225-6165

Deborah Pryce
Ohio-15th, Republican
221 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3515
Phone: (202) 225-2015

Rob Portman
Ohio-2nd, Republican
238 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3502
Phone: (202) 225-3164

Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Whip
California-8th, Democrat
2457 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0508
Phone: (202) 225-4965

Martin Frost
Texas-24th, Democrat
2256 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-4324
Phone: (202) 225-3605

Robert Menendez
New Jersey-13th, Democrat
2238 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3013
Phone: (202) 225-7919

Rosa L. DeLauro
Connecticut-3rd, Democrat
2262 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0703
Phone: (202) 225-3661

I am new to South Dakota. My man is in the federal system. I don't know anything about politics. Which is quite embarassing. I want to support this. I don't even know who represents my new state. How can I stay updated on this 5296. I have read that federal inmates can now get 400 minutes instead of 300 minutes for the phone begining in Nov. Is this true? WHY do I always feel in the dark?? Some times the system is MORE than I can keep up with. I go to the bop web site and can't make heads or tails of the information posted there. It always seems that these do not apply to where John is (Florence USP). Any info will help

I have been in the BOP site many times. If you want, I can investigate for you and prepare a condensed list of pages to visit. I'll search for Florence USP, and will not need more details. Regarding the HR 5296 Bill, you may find all the information we have at PTO, using the Search utility in the upper right corner of the screen, writing 5296 for the key to search.

Un abrazo,
Andrés

That would be GREAT. I have been to the bop site and can't seem to find things that apply. I have also been to my state web site and tried to look up what is going on. I found a homeland security page so hoping that they had updated info on it. I plugged my comments in just in case I had the right place. I haven't received any comments. Let me know! And THANK YOU!!

The subject of 400 minutes is here at PTO:
http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5383&highlight=400

The original rule of the 300 minutes is here at the BOP:
http://www.bop.gov/progstat/5264_07.html

Please tell me which other subjects you are interested in

Un abrazo,
Andrés

This message is for all who have posted on this thread. It appears that we all haved loved ones in the federal system and according to a poll that I conducted last week, located under general prison talk, we are only 2% of total people who post here. Much of the information that is shared does not apply to federal inmates and visa versa. I feel it would be beneficial if we had our own space to share information. Would you all be interested in a forum for Federal inmates?
I will ask FedEx to get his approval.

Dear Friends,
In reference to my previous post. Please forgive my statistical error. Federal inmates make up 5% of those whose loved ones post here.
My mistake.
Cheryl

It seems a good idea, as there are forums for each state and Canada, there could be one for those of us who deal with the federal BOP. Anything not strictly related to BOP regulations and federal Justice, could be posted in the usual forums.
Un abrazo,
Andrés

Sorry for posting twice. It would be important that we agree to post everything else in the general or special forums, because otherwise we could rapidly get involuntarily isolated from the rest.

Un abrazo,
Andrés

Andres,
I agree that everything that does not apply to the federal prison system should be posted in the appropriate forums.
Thank you for the input.
Cheryl

That would be great. The federal system has me in circles all too often. It would be nice to go directly to folks who are dealing with federal. I have been through alot of fourms looking for answers to deal with the feds.

I think a federal forum is a good idea, it's hard to believe that only 5% on PTO is federal. God knows that the federal system is certainly expanding everyday. Does anyone know if there are any other support groups that deal with federal inmates and issues related to them.

Terry,
The number for loved ones of federal inmates is approx. 17% the last time I counted, but we are still a minority.
Hope to have a new forum for us soon.
Cheryl

Hello Everyone,
For those in support of a federal forum, please go to the top of this site under FRONT OFFICE, Site suggestions and feedback and look for a post that I placed under FORUMS.
Please express your support there so it can be seen and we will have a designated place to post news pertaining to the federal system.
I noticed while looked throughout the entire Prison Talk site that there are postings in approximately 3 different forums on H.R.5296. It would be more convenient if this information could be found in one forum.
Please post your support in the front office so we can have one forum to post news on the federal system.
Thank you all.
Cheryl in Louisiana

Cheryl,
Thanks for getting the ball rolling. Everyone please show your support for a federal forum. It would be great to have one place to go to for federal info. This would be especially helpful to a newcomer to PTO that needs help with federal issues. I know that I was overwhelmed when I first came to PTO, there are so many places to go to. You aren't sure where to go to at first. If you're someone who doesn't have patience to search out the info. you tend to just log off. Which is the opposite of what this site is all about, to help those of us stay sane while we do our time!