that incentivize mass incarceration. and one of the most common examples of this, so police departments are -- they measure success through the number of arrests. prosecutors measure success through the number of convictions and how many people they are sending away to prison and for how long they're sending them. one of the examples in terms of the federal level is a 1994 crime bill. which we've all been hearing about on the campaign trail. one of the parts that we might not have heard as much about is the part that gave states $12.5 billion to construct additional prisons if they passed laws that increased prison terms. so in response, over 28 states actually changed their laws and applied for funding. and then between 1994 and 2008, the prison population doubled. so to truly end mass incarceration, these types of incentives have to be changed. and here's where the federal government can play a very large role. of course states and localities need to also change their laws but just like in the 1990s when the federal go

we're not adding to mass incarceration with all the related and devastating collateral consequences but instead incentivizing state and local governments to prevent, treat, and heal. that's why -- that is what we should be doing and that is what we should have done for crack and cocaine addicts. we're learning. we understand now that we have a different pathway. but it is not too late. so i'm saying to my colleagues here, as we are working together, we should find a way before congress has completed its work on this legislation and sends a bill to the president that applies a more comprehensive approach or a comprehensive approach that adds to this very strong foundation including dream alternatives to those who may still be suffering from crack and cocaine addiction. i remember signing the sentencing, the reduction bill that we had in 2009 dealing with the crack cocaine disparities. we came together as a bipartisan group. so i know that these are things we can do and mr. conyers, you know i've had this issue and discussed it with you, and i hope that we can work together as we move forward and our colleague