,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gaid  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #aa1 #bjbj,ms4 
,waters 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 
,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,ms4 ,norton1 
,mr4 ,pocan1 and ,mr4 ,khanna7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary1 and in addition to the      
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 for
 a period to be subsequently determined 
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
eliminate mandatory minimum sentences   
for all drug offenses4  #a4 ,short title
 ,this ,act may be cited as the         
,mandatory ,minimum ,reform ,act of     
#bjbj4  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes   
the following findings3 7#a7 ,mandatory 
minimum sentences are statutorily       
prescribed terms of imprisonment that   
automatically attach upon conviction of 
certain criminal conduct1 often         

pertaining to drug offenses4 ,absent    
very narrow criteria for relief1 a      
sentencing judge is powerless to mandate
 a term of imprisonment below the       
mandatory minimum4 ,mandatory minimum   
sentences for drug offenses rely solely 
upon the weight of the substance as a   
proxy for the defendant's role and      
degree of involvement4  7#b7 ,in the    
,anti-,drug ,abuse ,act of #aihf1 and at
 the height of the public concern over  
crack cocaine1 ,congress acted hastily1 
without sufficient hearings1 and enacted
 hard line penalties that targeted      
low-level drug offenders4 ,these        
penalties included new1 long mandatory  
minimum sentences for such offenders4   
7#c7 ,according to the ,bureau of       
,prisons1 in #aihf1 when the new drug   
law containing lengthy mandatory minimum
 sentences passed1 the prison population
 was #cf1jjj4 ,today1 the ,federal      
prison population is over #agg1jjj up   
over #cij percent in #cc years4  7#d7   
,according to the ,bureau of ,prisons1  

the average cost to keep one prisoner in
 ,federal prison for the fiscal year of 
#bjag was #cf1bii4be1 which equates to  
#ii4de per day4  7#e7 ,annual spending  
on the ,federal prison system rose by   
over #fjj percent1 from roughly         
#iff1jjj1jjj to more than #f4i billion  
in inflation-adjusted dollars1 between  
#aihj and #bjae4  7#f7 ,according to the
 ,u4,s4 ,sentencing ,commission1 #fi1dbe
 offenders were sentenced in fiscal year
 #bjah4 ,of those1 #ah1ifd offenders    
were sentenced for a drug trafficking   
offense2 with over half 7#eh4d percent7 
of all drug trafficking offenders       
convicted of an offense carrying a      
mandatory minimum penalty4  7#g7        
,according to the ,u4,s4 ,sentencing    
,commission1 drug offenders released    
from prison in #aihf who had been       
sentenced before the adoption of        
mandatory sentences and sentencing      
guidelines had served an average of #bb 
months in prison4 ,in fiscal year #bjah1
 the average sentence for drug          

trafficking offenders subject to a      
mandatory minimum penalty was more than 
#aj years 7#aca months2 #fb months with 
relief74  7#h7 ,in fiscal year #bjaf1   
many of those offenders convicted of an 
offense carrying a mandatory minimum    
sentence were nonviolent or low-level   
offenders4 ,according to the ,u4,s4     
,sentencing ,commission1 only #bh4g     
percent of convictions for drug         
trafficking offenses carrying a         
mandatory minimum penalty involved the  
use of a weapon1 violence1 or threats of
 violence4 ,only #aa4g percent of       
offenders convicted of such offenses    
played a leadership role4  7#i7         
,mandatory minimum sentences have       
historically been shown to have a       
disproportionate impact on ,african     
,americans4 ,the ,united ,states        
,sentencing ,commission1 in a #ae-year  
overview of the ,federal sentencing     
system1 concluded that mandatory penalty
 statutes are used inconsistently and   
disproportionately affect               

,african-,american defendants4          
,according to another ,united ,states   
,sentencing ,commission report1 in      
fiscal year #bjaf1 of the #h1cdb        
offenders who were subject to a ,federal
 mandatory minimum penalty at           
sentencing1 ,black offenders were the   
largest group1 representing #ce4e       
percent1 followed by ,white offenders1  
who represented #ca4a percent1 and      
,hispanic offenders1 who represented    
#cj4i percent4  7#aj7 ,according to the 
,u4,s4 ,sentencing ,commission1 between 
#aiid and #bjjc1 the average time served
 by ,african ,americans for a drug      
offense increased by #fb percent1       
compared to a #ag-percent increase among
 ,white drug defendants4  7#aa7         
,according to the ,substance ,abuse and 
,mental ,health ,services               
,administration1 surveys have documented
 that drug use is roughly consistent    
across racial and ethnic groups4 ,while 
there is less data available regarding  
drug sellers1 research from the ,office 

of ,national ,drug ,control ,policy and 
the ,national ,institute of ,justice has
 found that drug users generally buy    
drugs from someone of their own racial  
or ethnic background4 ,but1 according to
 the ,u4,s4 ,sentencing ,commission1    
about #gc percent of all drug offenders 
sentenced in #bjah were ,african        
,american and ,hispanic1 many of whom   
are low-level offenders4  7#ab7 ,as a   
result of ,federal prosecutors' focus on
 low-level drug offenders1 the          
overwhelming majority of individuals    
subject to the heightened crack cocaine 
penalties are ,african ,american4       
,according to the ,u4,s4 ,sentencing    
,commission1 in fiscal year #bjaf1 of   
those offenders sentenced on ,federal   
crack cocaine charges1 only #e4e percent
 were ,white1 while #hb4f percent and   
#aa4d percent were ,african ,american   
and ,hispanic1 respectively4  7#ac7     
,according to the ,u4,s4 ,census1       
,african ,americans comprise #ac4c      
percent of the ,u4,s4 population1 but   

according to the ,u4,s4 ,sentencing     
,commission1 in fiscal year #bjah       
,african ,americans made up #bd4i       
percent of all drug trafficking         
offenders4  7#ad7 ,according to the     
,u4,s4 ,sentencing ,commission1 in      
fiscal year #bjaf1 about #cd4f percent  
of women entering ,federal prison did so
 for a drug offense4 ,linking drug      
quantity with punishment severity has   
had a particularly profound impact on   
women1 who are historically more likely 
to play peripheral roles in a drug      
enterprise than men4 ,however1 because  
prosecutors can attach drug quantities  
to an individual regardless of the level
 of a defendant's participation in the  
charged offense1 women have been exposed
 to increasingly punitive sentences4    
7#ae7 ,low-level and mid-level drug     
offenders can be adequately prosecuted  
by the ,states and punished or          
supervised in treatment as appropriate4 
7#af7 ,congress has an obligation to    
taxpayers to use sentencing policies    

that are cost-effective and increase    
public safety1 in addition to           
establishing a criminal justice system  
that is fair1 efficient1 and provides   
just sentences for offenders4 ,mandatory
 sentences have not been conclusively   
shown to reduce recidivism or deter     
crime4  7#ag7 ,the limited resources in 
the ,federal criminal justice system    
should be used to protect society by    
incapacitating dangerous and violent    
offenders who pose a threat to public   
safety4  7#ah7 ,the ,federal judiciary  
has the expertise and is in the best    
position to sentence each offender and  
determine who should be sent to ,federal
 prisons and the amount of time each    
offender should serve4  #c4 ,approval of
 certain prosecutions by ,attorney      
,general ,a ,federal prosecution for an 
offense under the ,controlled           
,substances ,act1 the ,controlled       
,substances ,import and ,export ,act1 or
 for any conspiracy to commit such an   
offense1 where the offense involves the 

illegal distribution or possession of a 
controlled substance in an amount less  
than that amount specified as a minimum 
for an offense under section            
#dja7;b77#a77;,a7 of the ,controlled    
,substances ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4         
#hda7;b77#a77;,a77 or1 in the case of   
any substance containing cocaine or     
cocaine base1 in an amount less than    
#ejj grams1 shall not be commenced      
without the prior written approval of   
the ,attorney ,general4  #d4            
,modification of certain sentencing     
provisions  7a7 ,section #djd ,section  
#djd7;a7 of the ,controlled ,substances 
,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hdd7;a77 is        
amended-- 7#a7 by striking not less than
 #ae days but2  7#b7 by striking not    
less than #ij days but2 and  7#c7 by    
striking the sentence beginning ,the    
imposition or execution of a minimum    
sentence4  7b7 ,section #dja ,section   
#dja7;b7 of the ,controlled ,substances 
,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hda7;b77 is        
amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a77;,a7-- 

7,a7 by striking which may not be less  
than #aj years and or more than and     
inserting for any term of years or for2 
7,b7 by striking and if death or serious
 bodily injury results from the use of  
such substance shall not be less than   
#bj years or more than life2  7,c7 by   
striking which may not be less than #bj 
years and not more than life            
imprisonment and if death or serious    
bodily injury results from the use of   
such substance shall be sentenced to    
imprisonment for any term of years or   
for life imprisonment and inserting for 
any term of years or for life2  7,d7 by 
striking the sentence beginning ,if any 
person commits a violation of this      
subparagraph2 and  7,e7 by striking the 
sentence beginning ,notwithstanding any 
other provision of law and the sentence 
beginning ,no person sentenced2  7#b7 in
 paragraph 7#a77;,b7-- 7,a7 by striking 
which may not be less than #e years and 
and inserting for2  7,b7 by striking not
 less than #bj years or more than1 and  

inserting for any term or years or for2 
7,c7 by striking which may not be less  
than #aj years and not more than and    
inserting for any term of years or for2 
7,d7 by inserting imprisonment for any  
term of years or for after if death or  
serious bodily injury results from the  
use of such substance shall be sentenced
 to2 and  7,e7 by striking the sentence 
beginning ,notwithstanding any other    
provision of law and the sentence       
beginning ,no person sentenced2 and     
7#c7 in paragraph 7#a77;,c71 by striking
 of not less than twenty years or more  
than life and inserting for any term of 
years or to life imprisonment4  7c7     
,section #ajaj ,section #ajaj7;b7 of the
 ,controlled ,substances ,import and    
,export ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #ifj7;b77 is
 amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7
 by striking of not less than #aj years 
and not more than and inserting for any 
term of years or for2  7,b7 by striking 
and if death the first place it appears 
and all that follows through #bj years  

and not more than life the first place  
it appears2  7,c7 by striking of not    
less than #bj years and not more than   
life imprisonment and inserting for any 
term of years or for life2  7,d7 by     
striking and if death or serious bodily 
injury results from the use of such     
substance shall be sentenced to life    
imprisonment2 and  7,e7 by striking the 
sentence beginning ,notwithstanding any 
other provision of law and the sentence 
beginning ,no person sentenced2  7#b7 in
 paragraph 7#b7-- 7,a7 by striking not  
less than #e years and2  7,b7 by        
striking of not less than twenty years  
and not more than and inserting for any 
term of years or for2  7,c7 by striking 
of not less than #aj years and not more 
than and inserting for any term of years
 or to2  7,d7 by striking and if death  
or serious bodily injury results from   
the use of such substance shall be      
sentenced to life imprisonment2 and     
7,e7 by striking the sentence beginning 
,notwithstanding any other provision of 

law and the sentence beginning ,no      
person sentenced2 and  7#c7 in paragraph
 7#c71 by striking of not less than     
twenty years and not more than life and 
inserting for any term or years or for  
life4  7d7 ,section #dah ,section #dah  
of the ,controlled ,substances ,act 7#ba
 ,u4,s4,c4 #hei7 is amended by striking 
the sentence beginning ,except to the   
extent each place it appears and by     
striking the sentence beginning ,the    
mandatory minimum4  7e7 ,section #dai   
,section #dai of the ,controlled        
,substances ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hfj7 is
 amended-- 7#a7 by striking the sentence
 beginning ,except to the extent each   
place it appears and by striking the    
sentence beginning ,the mandatory       
minimum2 and  7#b7 by striking          
subsection 7d74  7f7 ,section #dbj      
,section #dbj of the ,controlled        
,substances ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hfa7 is
 amended-- 7#a7 in each of subsections  
7b7 and 7c71 by striking the sentence   
beginning ,except to the extent2  7#b7  

by striking subsection 7e72 and  7#c7 in
 subsection 7f71 by striking 1 7c71 and 
7e7 and inserting and 7c74