S.Amdt. 4623

SA 4623. Mr. PAUL (for himself and Mr. Leahy) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle I of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1097. JUSTICE SAFETY VALVE.

(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Justice Safety Valve Act of 2016''.
(b) Authority to Impose a Sentence Below a Statutory
Minimum.--Section 3553 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Authority to Impose a Sentence Below a Statutory
Minimum to Prevent an Unjust Sentence.--
``(1) General rule.--Notwithstanding any provision of law
other than this subsection, the court may impose a sentence
below a statutory minimum if the court finds that it is
necessary to do so in order to avoid violating the
requirements of subsection (a).
``(2) Court to give parties notice.--Before imposing a
sentence under paragraph (1), the court shall give the
parties reasonable notice of the court's intent to do so and
an opportunity to respond.
``(3) Statement in writing of factors.--The court shall
state, in the written statement of reasons, the factors under
subsection (a) that require imposition of a sentence below
the statutory minimum.
``(4) Appeal rights not limited.--This subsection does not
limit any right to appeal that would otherwise exist in its
absence.''.
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