Eliminating A Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021
Floor Speech
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1693) to eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1693
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021'' or the ``EQUAL Act of 2021''. SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF INCREASED PENALTIES FOR COCAINE OFFENSES WHERE THE COCAINE INVOLVED IS COCAINE BASE.
(a) Controlled Substances Act.--The following provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) are repealed:
(1) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(A) (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A)).
(2) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(B) (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B)).
(b) Controlled Substances Import and Export Act.--The following provisions of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 951 et seq.) are repealed:
(1) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(1) (21 U.S.C. 960(b)(1)).
(2) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(2) (21 U.S.C. 960(b)(2)).
(c) Applicability to Pending and Past Cases.--
(1) Pending cases.--This section, and the amendments made by this section, shall apply to any sentence imposed after the date of enactment of this Act, regardless of when the offense was committed.
(2) Past cases.--
(A) In general.--In the case of a defendant who, on or before the date of enactment of this Act, was sentenced for a Federal offense described in subparagraph (B), the sentencing court may, on motion of the defendant, the Bureau of Prisons, the attorney for the Government, or on its own motion, impose a reduced sentence after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) of title 18, United States Code.
(B) Federal offense described.--A Federal offense described in this subparagraph is an offense that involves cocaine base that is an offense under one of the following:
(i) Section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841).
(ii) Section 1010 of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960).
(iii) Section 404(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844(a)).
(iv) Any other Federal criminal offense, the conduct or penalties for which were established by reference to a provision described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii).
(C) Defendant not required to be present.--Notwithstanding Rule 43 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the defendant is not required to be present at any hearing on whether to impose a reduced sentence pursuant to this paragraph.
(D) No reduction for previously reduced sentences.--A court may not consider a motion made under this paragraph to reduce a sentence if the sentence was previously imposed or previously reduced in accordance with this Act.
(E) No requirement to reduce sentence.--Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to require a court to reduce a sentence pursuant to this paragraph. SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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Mr. NADLER. 1693.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1693, the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021, or the EQUAL Act, would eliminate the unjust sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses.
This long overdue bipartisan legislation would allow defendants who were previously convicted or sentenced for a Federal offense involving crack cocaine to petition for a sentence reduction.
In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which created mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses and introduced the 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. This meant that a person who distributed 5 grams of crack cocaine received the same 5-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person who distributed 500 grams of the powder cocaine.
A person who distributed 50 grams of crack cocaine received the same 10-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person who distributed 5,000 grams of powder cocaine. It soon became evident that this sentencing disparity also created a significant racial disparity.
Mr. Speaker, 4 years after Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, the average Federal sentence for Black defendants was 49 percent higher than the average sentence for White defendants. In the ensuing decades, the Sentencing Commission and many members of the law enforcement community strongly and repeatedly criticized the 100:1 ratio and urged Congress to address the disparity.
As early as 1995, the Sentencing Commission began urging Congress to rectify this unfairness. Besides the troubling racial disparities in sentencing, the Commission also expressed concern over the significant differences in punishment between street-level dealers of crack cocaine and the powder cocaine suppliers who sold the cocaine in the first instance.
Unfortunately, Congress failed to act on the Commission's proposed amendment to the sentencing guidelines to equalize the penalties for crack and powder cocaine.
From 1997 to 2007, the Commission continued to warn Congress about the unjustified ratio, noting that ``there is no legislative history that explains Congress' rationale for selecting the 100:1 drug quantity ratio for powder cocaine and crack offenses.'' It provided evidence for its findings that the penalties exaggerated the relative harmfulness of crack cocaine, swept too broadly, most often applied to lower-level offenders, and mostly impacted communities of color.
Congress, however, took no action, prompting the Commission to pass an amendment to the sentencing guidelines in 2007 as a partial and modest remedy to the ``urgent and compelling'' problems associated with the ratio. In doing so, the Commission ``unanimously and strongly urged'' Congress to take actions on its recommendations and to provide a comprehensive solution.
In 2010, Congress finally acted by passing the Fair Sentencing Act, which did not eliminate the disparity, but which significantly reduced the ratio from 100:1 to 18:1. But the Fair Sentencing Act applied only to pending and future cases, leaving thousands of incarcerated people without a path to petition for relief. The First Step Act of 2018 made the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive, providing a pathway to relief for some, but not all, individuals affected by the sentencing disparity.
It is now past time to finish the job. The crack cocaine and powder cocaine disparity has greatly contributed to the rise of mass incarceration, devastated communities of color, and severely undermined public confidence in our criminal justice system.
The EQUAL Act would finally equalize the treatment of powder cocaine and crack cocaine--two forms of the same drug--by eliminating the sentencing disparity. It would also provide a path to retroactive relief from a disparity that is not rooted in science, does not promote public safety, and fosters racial disparities.
I commend Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Bobby Scott, Kelly Armstrong, and Don Bacon for introducing this important bipartisan legislation, and I urge all Members to support it.
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Mr. NADLER. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee for yielding and with the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island, Judge Gohmert knows, and we know that Texas knows how to lead. So I thank them so very much for bringing that to our attention.
Let me take just a moment to turn and say thank you to Chairman Jeffries for leading us on and providing the energy and the engine for doing something that is and will continue to be lifesaving.
It is my life's work to use the criminal justice system as a reform mechanism to save lives and to ensure that it is not a system that unequally prides itself on supporting the rights sometimes of the offender without acknowledging the rights of the victim.
In many instances in addiction, Mr. Speaker, you will find persons who go awry of the criminal justice system as victims because they then are not given the treatment that they should get, or they are not given the recognition of the question of how you can fairly address these laws. They are, in fact, becoming victims. They are victims of the system. They become incarcerated. They lose their right to vote. Their families are separated from them. They are stigmatized. They may lose their life's dream of being a teacher or a police officer or a lawyer.
We don't know what lives we lost in the so-called war on drugs and how many fell by the wayside. So I am proud to support H.R. 1693, the EQUAL Act of 2021, which will finally eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses and provide retroactive relief to thousands of people who received harsh and unfair sentences based on this disparity.
The crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity is another byproduct of our country's failed war on drugs. I have long championed for the equalization of crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. The evidence of the statement of support and comments of our co-manager, Mr. Gohmert from Texas, and as well the letter from Mr. Armstrong showed the bipartisan recognition of where we are today.
I want to thank the members of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee who collectively have had a vision along with all the members of the Judiciary Committee.
What are we doing there?
Yes, we are there to uphold laws to promote the legal process under the system called criminal justice, but we are surely there to ensure that criminal justice works.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Beginning in 2007 I introduced legislation that would have ended the disparity, because we had learned that most of the assumptions on which the 100-to-1 ratio was based turned out to be unfounded. Those unfounded assumptions damaged communities of color for generations. A higher percentage of Black Americans are convicted of crack cocaine versus powder cocaine offenses and receive significantly longer sentences for comparable offenses, and the percentage of individuals serving unreasonably long sentences is because that disparity exists.
Let me also indicate, I was happy to introduce an amendment to allow the courts to grant sentence reductions absent the defendant's presence as required today. This will eliminate the court's logjam, and some of these individuals are, in fact, incarcerated still. Individuals like William Underwood, Matthew Charles, and Cynthia Shank all testified before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees about the devastating impact that sentencing disparity and mandatory minimum laws have had on them, their families, and countless others.
I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, this legislation is long overdue. I am excited that the introduction of my legislation now today will become reality, and I am excited to be a partner and working with Chairman Jeffries on this important legislation.
Finally, to conclude, I want just to say that race has been a factor, and we are glad that we are moving beyond that. We must pass the EQUAL Act.
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Mr. NADLER. Tlaib).
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, the EQUAL Act of 2021 represents an important step in our efforts to reform the criminal justice system. I thank Representatives Jeffries, Scott, Armstrong, and Bacon for their leadership in introducing this important legislation and for assembling a broad and bipartisan coalition of stakeholders in support of the bill, including the Department of Justice and advocacy groups that span the entire ideological spectrum.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan bill today, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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