Eliminating A Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, for yielding, and for his extraordinary leadership in moving this important piece of legislation forward.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank Kelly Armstrong, who is the lead Republican who has sponsored this legislation, for his advocacy and his efforts to advance this critical piece of legislation. And I thank my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert), who indicated that we had had a previous conversation with then-Congressman Cedric Richmond at a Judiciary Committee hearing about his willingness to be supportive of moving forward with a bill to deal with the sentencing disparity that relates to crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1693, the EQUAL Act, legislation that will finally eliminate the Federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity, which has devastated lives and families and communities throughout the country.

As has been indicated, in 1986, shortly after the tragic death of basketball star, Len Bias, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act established a 100:1 disparity in sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine. As a result, 500 grams of powder and 5 grams of crack triggered the same 5- year mandatory prison sentence.

Yet, there is no policy justification for punishing crack cocaine offenses more harshly than the same offense involving powder cocaine. And there is no pharmacological difference between how the body processes crack cocaine and how it processes powder cocaine, notwithstanding the thinking at the time.

Where there is a difference is the law's impact on communities of color. The burden has disproportionately fallen on African-American communities. 77.1 percent of the crack cocaine offenders convicted were Black, while most powder cocaine traffickers are non-Black.

There was an overall impact as well. Our system of mass incarceration costs us at least $180 billion per year, money that could otherwise be invested in the well-being of everyday Americans in inner-city America, rural America, suburban America, small-town America, Appalachia as well.

Policy and this failed war on drugs has not resulted in improved public safety, which is why the EQUAL Act is supported by law enforcement groups like the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and perhaps most importantly, the National District Attorneys Association.

Recognizing the sentencing disparity as a failure, Congress has acted several times to incrementally address this disparity. In 2010, with passage of the Fair Sentencing Act, the disparity was reduced from 100:1 to 18:1, in legislation signed into law by then-President Barack Obama. In 2018, with the First Step Act, legislation signed into law by then-President Donald Trump, that 18:1 sentencing disparity was made retroactive. And now Congress has an opportunity to finish the job.

Today, the House of Representatives is poised in a bipartisan way to get that done.

Fifty years ago, the failed war on drugs was first launched when the President at the time declared drug abuse public enemy number one. At the time there were less than 300,000 people incarcerated in America. Today, 2.3 million--disproportionately Black and Latino, many of them nonviolent drug offenders--who instead of receiving incarceration should have received drug treatment.

It was a failed policy then. And we can't repeat that policy today, as so many folks are dealing with the scourge of opioid addiction. That is why I am so thankful that we are coming together to pass the EQUAL Act to end the disparity and to address the error of mass incarceration.

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