Labrador Joins Congressional Leaders at White House Meeting on Sentencing Reform

Press Release

Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, was joined by top congressional advocates of sentencing reform at a meeting with President Obama at the White House Tuesday afternoon.

"As a conservative, I take seriously the Constitution's protections against the government depriving citizens of their liberty," Labrador said after meeting with President Obama and Vice President Biden and about a dozen members of Congress invited by the president to discuss reform legislation.

"It troubles me that with 5 percent of the world's population, the U.S. has 25 percent of the global prison population," Labrador continued. "That has lasting effects on the families of the incarcerated, who too often receive sentences out of proportion to their offense. I'm pleased that momentum for change is building across the ideological spectrum.

"I look forward to working with President Obama and my colleagues in both parties. I also appreciate the support voiced by Attorney General Holder for my sentencing reform bill. My hope is the president will continue to consult with Congress at a time when the American people demand that their leaders do their jobs and tackle problems of national significance on a bipartisan basis."

Labrador and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., introduced H.R. 920, the Smarter Sentencing Act, earlier this month. A companion bill by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, was introduced in the Senate as S. 502. The Justice Department says the bill could save up to $24 billion over the first 20 years and immediately address the problem of overcrowding in federal prisons.

"Our first obligation is to protect public safety," Labrador said. "But in cases of nonviolent drug offenders, we must restore the discretion of judges, reduce mandatory minimum sentences and employ alternatives to incarceration. Today's meeting was a positive step toward common sense in federal criminal sentencing."

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