The Republican-controlled House has already approved a bill that offers federal inmates more opportunities to prepare for freedom and rewards them with more “good-time credit” for behaving and participating in education and training programs. The measure, called the First Step Act, would provide a faster path to release for almost all federal inmates, many of whom would see months shaved off their release dates immediately, thanks to changes that would apply retroactively.

But the Senate is a tougher sell. Prison reform advocates are aggressively lobbying Congress to act. But they don’t have much time. The Nov. 6 midterms are approaching.