Authorize $10 million annually for a DOJ grant program dedicated to establishing holistic community reentry resource centers that offer a comprehensive range of services in a single location, including housing, job training, and mental health counseling.
I will authorize $10 million annually in DOJ grants for holistic community reentry resource centers that provide housing, job training, and mental health counseling.
Occurrences
Establish DOJ grants for states, tribal areas, and local governments to operate 24/7 reentry services assistance hotlines.
Create mentorship opportunities by utilizing formerly incarcerated individuals as mentors.
Provide a “second look” to incarcerated individuals who have served for at least 10 years through a petition for a sentence reduction; Create a rebuttable presumption of release for petitioners who are 50 years of age or older on the date of the petition;
Define a “juvenile” within federal court jurisdiction as a minor between the ages 12 and 18 and prohibit children under the age of 13 from being prosecuted for crimes in federal court; Raise the age for discretionary federal adjudication of a child in adult proceedings from 15 years old to 16 years old;
Prohibit placement of juveniles in federal adult correctional facilities; Eliminate applying the felony murder rule to juveniles, which allows a defendant to be charged with first-degree murder for a killing that occurs during a dangerous felony, even if the defendant is not the killer;
Designate the final week of April as “National Reentry Week;”
To authorize implementation grants to community-based nonprofits to operate one-stop reentry centers.
To authorize implementation grants to community-based nonprofits to operate one-stop reentry centers.
Evidence
Section 2(f)(1) states: "There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this section." The same bill also defines community reentry services to include housing, employment, financial counseling, mental health services, and substance use disorder treatment.
GovInfo records that on April 28, 2026, Ms. Kamlager-Dove introduced H.R. 8548 and referred it to the House Committee on the Judiciary. The bill's full title is "To authorize implementation grants to community-based nonprofits to operate one-stop reentry centers."
Congress.gov shows H.R. 3372 had status "Passed House" and the latest action was Senate referral; the bill was not enacted. The summary says it authorizes DOJ grants for community-based nonprofits to create community reentry centers.
Assessments
Kamlager-Dove did not secure enactment of the promised DOJ authorization. The strongest matching policy vehicle in the 117th Congress, H.R. 3372, would have authorized $10 million annually for reentry-center grants, but it only passed the House and died after Senate referral; it never became law. That bill was sponsored by Karen Bass, not Kamlager-Dove, so it does not provide full candidate credit. Kamlager-Dove later made a serious direct attempt in office by introducing H.R. 8548 on April 28, 2026, but the record provided shows only introduction and referral, not passage or enacted funding authority. Under a fulfillment standard focused on actual delivery, this is a failed but substantial legislative effort rather than a delivered promise.
Kamlager-Dove repeatedly advanced the proposal in Congress, including introducing H.R. 8548 in 2026 and earlier sponsoring H.R. 3372, which would have authorized $10 million annually for DOJ reentry-center grants. But the evidence shows the bill only passed the House and was never enacted, so the promised authorization was not delivered.
Kamlager-Dove materially pursued this promise by sponsoring legislation that matched it closely. H.R. 3372 authorized $10 million annually in DOJ grants for community-based reentry centers offering services including housing, employment support, and mental health services, and it passed the House in the 117th Congress. However, it was not enacted after Senate referral, so the promised authorization never became law. Her later reintroduction in 2026 shows continued effort but still no enacted authorization or funded program. Under the rubric, a serious legislative attempt that failed to deliver the promised outcome is scored as never with effort credit.
The promised outcome was to authorize $10 million annually in DOJ grants for one-stop community reentry centers providing housing, job training/employment support, and mental health services. The cited bill text matches the substance of the promise, but the record indicates it passed the House and was not enacted, so the authorization did not become law. Kamlager-Dove also introduced a renewed version in the 119th Congress on April 28, 2026, which shows a serious legislative attempt during her federal service, but introduction and committee referral are not delivery of the promised authorization or funding.