Labrador and Scott Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reform Criminal Sentencing Laws

Press Release

Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID) and Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), members of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a landmark bipartisan bill today to bring common sense and flexibility to federal criminal sentencing laws. Their bill -- the Smarter Sentencing Act -- would allow courts to make individualized assessments in nonviolent drug cases, ensuring that limited resources are focused on the most serious offenders, while maintaining public safety.

"We must be strict, but also smart, when it comes to federal criminal sentencing," said Rep. Labrador. "The "one-size-fits-all' approach Congress put on the books has tied the hands of judges without improving public safety. Nearly half of the inmates filling our federal prisons are incarcerated for drug offenses. Many of them do not need overly harsh penalties. And yet judges are forced to impose these penalties, even if they don't want to.

"The bill Rep. Scott and I are introducing today will empower judges to determine, on an individual level, when the harshest sentences should apply," stated Rep. Labrador. "This approach will improve justice, reduce the burden on taxpayers, and actually improve safety by enabling the justice system to focus on the most violent offenders. I am proud of the large number of groups -- representing the whole ideological spectrum -- who are supporting our bill, and I will work with my colleagues in a bipartisan way to get it passed."

During the past 30 years, the number of inmates in federal custody has grown by 500 percent, with nearly half of them serving sentences for drug offenses. Spending on federal incarceration has grown by more than 1100 percent. Today, it costs about $29,000 per year to house just one federal inmate. The Smarter Sentencing Act could save up to $1 billion in incarceration costs.

"I am honored to join Congressman Labrador as a cosponsor of the Smarter Sentencing Act," said Rep. Scott. "Granting federal judges more discretion in sentencing for nonviolent drug offenses is the right thing to do. Studies of mandatory minimums conclude that they fail to reduce crime, they waste the taxpayers' money, and they often require the imposition of sentences that violate common sense."

"This bipartisan bill targets particularly egregious mandatory minimums and returns discretion to federal judges in an incremental manner," Rep. Scott continued. "This legislation is an important step in updating sentencing policies that are not working, that are costing taxpayers too much, and that do nothing to make our families and communities safer."

Source