EQUAL Act of 2021

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in the 1980s, as Representative Nadler said, Congress enacted harsh penalties for Federal drug offenses, including mandatory minimum sentences. In the 1986 act, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, it did create 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, meaning an individual convicted of selling 5 grams of crack cocaine would receive the same sentence as someone convicted of selling 500 grams of powder cocaine.

Earlier, years before, Representative Dan Lungren--he had been here in the eighties--in 1986, when this was passed, said that Republicans were told in 1986--with a Democratic majority--by Representative Charley Rangel, that if they did not support the huge disparity, then they did not care about Black neighborhoods and the scourge that crack cocaine was creating and how it was ruining Black neighborhoods. So it easily passed because in 1986, no one wanted to be called a racist. This law contributed to the growth of the U.S. Federal prison population from the 1990s through 2000s.

In 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1. And as I recall, at the time, I thought it would be good to go 1:1; that is what we did in Texas when I was a judge. But if I recall correctly, there were some Republicans that said we can't go all the way to 1:1, but we will agree to 18:1. If that is not right, the chair can correct me, but that is what I recall. Because I didn't see why we didn't go ahead and go 1:1 back then and just fix it.

But that was what happened. It went from 100:1 to 18:1 disparity. But in 2018, Congress passed--President Trump signed--the First Step Act, which made the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive. This law allowed those sentenced for Federal drug offenses relating to cocaine prior to the passage of Fair Sentencing Act to move for a resentencing under the new law.

The EQUAL Act before us today truly lives up to the name of equalizing sentences for similar crimes and would eliminate the Federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and allow those convicted under the prior law to move for resentencing under this new standard.

At the State level, more than 40 States do not treat crack and powder cocaine differently in their sentencing structures. Passage of the EQUAL Act now would align Federal sentencing laws with the vast majority of States.

And I would like to also say in a prior hearing Mr. Jeffries indicated that he intended to go forward and would try to push a bill, as the chair also had hoped, that would finally eliminate the sentencing disparity and go 1:1.

In that hearing, I made the comment that if Mr. Jeffries would draft a bill that did just that, then I would support that. And I am very pleased that Mr. Jeffries, who is a man of his word, he did exactly what he said. He prepared a bill that fixed this problem.

I am pleased to agree and to be part of what Mr. Jeffries prepared and what the chairman has seen through our committee, and glad we are finally going to deal with this problem and do right by the people that are sentenced under it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend Mr. Jeffries mentioning Cedric Richmond and also Kelly Armstrong who were such an important part of bringing this bill to this place.

Of course, Congressman Cedric Richmond has passed on to his just reward.

Of course, that means going to the White House to work. Mr. Armstrong is still here laboring in the field. He was unable to be here and asked that I read this statement from him into the Record.

He said: ``I wish I could be here today, but I am grateful to Representative Gohmert for sharing my remarks with the Chamber.

``I am proud to support passage of the EQUAL Act, which will finally provide sentencing parity for Federal crack and powder cocaine offenses.

``This bill will also provide relief to those who have been sentenced under the previous unequal guidelines. In 1986, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act created a 100:1 sentencing disparity for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. For instance, the law created a 5-year prison sentence for distribution of 5 grams of crack cocaine. At the same time, an individual would need to possess 100 times that amount of powder cocaine to receive the same sentence.

``The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the disparity from 100:1 to 18:1. The First Step Act of 2018 was supposed to make the 18:1 change retroactive. The EQUAL Act not only provides sentencing parity for crack and powder cocaine offenses, it also solves the retroactivity and implementation issues.

``This is not being soft on crime. It is being smart on crime. Many Americans struggling with addiction are no stranger to the Federal prison system. We know that addressing substance use disorder and mental health challenges are the most effective way to help these individuals as well as improve our communities.

``The answer isn't to lock people up for crimes of addiction. We tried that method for decades, it does not work. In an increasingly partisan time, the EQUAL Act is an example of how commonsense legislation can receive bipartisan support from across the political spectrum. You don't have to look further than the prime sponsors of this bill.

``I am a conservative Republican from North Dakota. Congressman Jeffries is a Democrat from New York City. We disagree on a lot of issues, but we have come together to support this bill because it is the right thing to do. It is also why this bill has broad support from across the ideological spectrum.

``The House Judiciary Committee reported the EQUAL Act favorably by a vote of 36-5. The bill also is supported by dozens of group ranging from the ACLU to Americans for Prosperity.

``Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to bring us to this point. I urge everyone to support the EQUAL Act.''

That ends the statement by Mr. Kelly Armstrong.

Let me just say in conclusion--and I appreciated the comments of Mr. Jeffries regarding treatment--what I saw during my decade on the bench was, whether it was crack cocaine or powder cocaine, it was incredibly additive. And every now and then somebody might be able to deal with their addiction in a 30-day program, but normally it took a lot longer than 30 days.

Something I thought Texas did right was have an up to 12 months substance abuse felony punishment facility. Some thought it was strange that a strong conservative, like myself, used that as much as I did. I saw that this is so additive and it needs a length of time to help people change their lives for such a time that they have got a better chance of making it out, understanding just how addictive those substances are, all coming from cocaine.

I know the second checks act dealt with some of those issues, but it might be something else we can do in the future, where if you are convicted of an offense where you are an addict, then a long-term substance abuse facility where you are only with people with your same problem. And it is a lockdown facility, you don't have a choice of going anywhere.

And as I have sat and watched some of the encounters in the meetings, like AA, that you have there in those facilities, boy, they have a BS- detector. They don't let people get away with anything. They have been there. They know, and it had a better success rate than any other program that I had seen.

So this is a great start toward getting the right thing done, and I appreciate Mr. Jeffries, and in the past, Mr. Richmond--I know it was his desire--and Chairman Nadler, for making this happen.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

I continue to reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chairman's efforts in regard to this bill.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1693) to eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1693.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1693, the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021, or the EQUAL Act, would eliminate the unjust sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses.

This long overdue bipartisan legislation would allow defendants who were previously convicted or sentenced for a Federal offense involving crack cocaine to petition for a sentence reduction.

In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which created mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses and introduced the 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. This meant that a person who distributed 5 grams of crack cocaine received the same 5-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person who distributed 500 grams of the powder cocaine.

A person who distributed 50 grams of crack cocaine received the same 10-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person who distributed 5,000 grams of powder cocaine. It soon became evident that this sentencing disparity also created a significant racial disparity.

Mr. Speaker, 4 years after Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, the average Federal sentence for Black defendants was 49 percent higher than the average sentence for White defendants. In the ensuing decades, the Sentencing Commission and many members of the law enforcement community strongly and repeatedly criticized the 100:1 ratio and urged Congress to address the disparity.

As early as 1995, the Sentencing Commission began urging Congress to rectify this unfairness. Besides the troubling racial disparities in sentencing, the Commission also expressed concern over the significant differences in punishment between street-level dealers of crack cocaine and the powder cocaine suppliers who sold the cocaine in the first instance.

Unfortunately, Congress failed to act on the Commission's proposed amendment to the sentencing guidelines to equalize the penalties for crack and powder cocaine.

From 1997 to 2007, the Commission continued to warn Congress about the unjustified ratio, noting that ``there is no legislative history that explains Congress' rationale for selecting the 100:1 drug quantity ratio for powder cocaine and crack offenses.'' It provided evidence for its findings that the penalties exaggerated the relative harmfulness of crack cocaine, swept too broadly, most often applied to lower-level offenders, and mostly impacted communities of color.

Congress, however, took no action, prompting the Commission to pass an amendment to the sentencing guidelines in 2007 as a partial and modest remedy to the ``urgent and compelling'' problems associated with the ratio. In doing so, the Commission ``unanimously and strongly urged'' Congress to take actions on its recommendations and to provide a comprehensive solution.

In 2010, Congress finally acted by passing the Fair Sentencing Act, which did not eliminate the disparity, but which significantly reduced the ratio from 100:1 to 18:1. But the Fair Sentencing Act applied only to pending and future cases, leaving thousands of incarcerated people without a path to petition for relief. The First Step Act of 2018 made the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive, providing a pathway to relief for some, but not all, individuals affected by the sentencing disparity.

It is now past time to finish the job. The crack cocaine and powder cocaine disparity has greatly contributed to the rise of mass incarceration, devastated communities of color, and severely undermined public confidence in our criminal justice system.

The EQUAL Act would finally equalize the treatment of powder cocaine and crack cocaine--two forms of the same drug--by eliminating the sentencing disparity. It would also provide a path to retroactive relief from a disparity that is not rooted in science, does not promote public safety, and fosters racial disparities.

I commend Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Bobby Scott, Kelly Armstrong, and Don Bacon for introducing this important bipartisan legislation, and I urge all Members to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Michigan an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, the EQUAL Act of 2021 represents an important step in our efforts to reform the criminal justice system. I thank Representatives Jeffries, Scott, Armstrong, and Bacon for their leadership in introducing this important legislation and for assembling a broad and bipartisan coalition of stakeholders in support of the bill, including the Department of Justice and advocacy groups that span the entire ideological spectrum.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan bill today, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee for yielding and with the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island, Judge Gohmert knows, and we know that Texas knows how to lead. So I thank them so very much for bringing that to our attention.

Let me take just a moment to turn and say thank you to Chairman Jeffries for leading us on and providing the energy and the engine for doing something that is and will continue to be lifesaving.

It is my life's work to use the criminal justice system as a reform mechanism to save lives and to ensure that it is not a system that unequally prides itself on supporting the rights sometimes of the offender without acknowledging the rights of the victim.

In many instances in addiction, Mr. Speaker, you will find persons who go awry of the criminal justice system as victims because they then are not given the treatment that they should get, or they are not given the recognition of the question of how you can

fairly address these laws. They are, in fact, becoming victims. They are victims of the system. They become incarcerated. They lose their right to vote. Their families are separated from them. They are stigmatized. They may lose their life's dream of being a teacher or a police officer or a lawyer.

We don't know what lives we lost in the so-called war on drugs and how many fell by the wayside. So I am proud to support H.R. 1693, the EQUAL Act of 2021, which will finally eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses and provide retroactive relief to thousands of people who received harsh and unfair sentences based on this disparity.

The crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity is another byproduct of our country's failed war on drugs. I have long championed for the equalization of crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. The evidence of the statement of support and comments of our co-manager, Mr. Gohmert from Texas, and as well the letter from Mr. Armstrong showed the bipartisan recognition of where we are today.

I want to thank the members of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee who collectively have had a vision along with all the members of the Judiciary Committee.

What are we doing there?

Yes, we are there to uphold laws to promote the legal process under the system called criminal justice, but we are surely there to ensure that criminal justice works.

Beginning in 2007 I introduced legislation that would have ended the disparity, because we had learned that most of the assumptions on which the 100-to-1 ratio was based turned out to be unfounded. Those unfounded assumptions damaged communities of color for generations. A higher percentage of Black Americans are convicted of crack cocaine versus powder cocaine offenses and receive significantly longer sentences for comparable offenses, and the percentage of individuals serving unreasonably long sentences is because that disparity exists.

Let me also indicate, I was happy to introduce an amendment to allow the courts to grant sentence reductions absent the defendant's presence as required today. This will eliminate the court's logjam, and some of these individuals are, in fact, incarcerated still. Individuals like William Underwood, Matthew Charles, and Cynthia Shank all testified before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees about the devastating impact that sentencing disparity and mandatory minimum laws have had on them, their families, and countless others.

I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, this legislation is long overdue. I am excited that the introduction of my legislation now today will become reality, and I am excited to be a partner and working with Chairman Jeffries on this important legislation.

Finally, to conclude, I want just to say that race has been a factor, and we are glad that we are moving beyond that. We must pass the EQUAL Act.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1693, the EQUAL Act, which would eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. I would like to thank my colleagues Representatives Jeffries, Bacon, and Armstrong for their work to bring this bill to the floor today.

In 1986, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act created a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between the amount of crack cocaine that triggered an automatic 5-year mandatory minimum sentence and the amount of powder cocaine that would trigger the same punishment. This sentencing disparity had a racially disparate impact on Black communities, did nothing to change personal behaviors, and has been a tremendous waste of taxpayer money and resources. There are no pharmacological differences between these two substances. Yet more than 80 percent of people convicted in federal court for crack offenses are Black, while only 27 percent of those convicted of powder cocaine offenses are Black.

The crack cocaine sentencing disparity has forced judges to impose higher penalties for very small amounts of crack cocaine. This also had the bizarre effect of punishing those individuals lower in the drug distribution chain much more severely than the actual drug kingpins for two reasons: the kingpins generally distribute powder from which the crack is produced, and lower level defendants often lack information on the drug operation that they can turn over to prosecutors in order to obtain sentencing credit for cooperation.

Mandatory minimums, whether they are equal or not, must be eliminated. The ``tough on crime'' policies based on slogans and sound bites have failed, and mandatory minimums have been studied extensively--they fail to reduce crime, they waste taxpayers' money and often require judges to impose sentences that violate common sense. Instead of arguing about whether someone should receive a five-year mandatory minimum, we should be investing in early education, workforce training, and our communities.

The EQUAL Act is the next step on the long road toward eliminating this unfair sentencing disparity. In 2009, I led the effort in the House to eliminate this disparity in the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act. That effort eventually led to the 2010 passage of the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the crack/powder cocaine disparity from 100:1 to 18:1. That was a hard-fought compromise, and the EQUAL Act will finally end this disparity. This is an important step toward fixing our criminal justice system and making it fairer. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and hope the Senate moves quickly to send this bill to the President's desk.