Terry Technical Correction Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5455 responds to a Supreme Court ruling that held certain low-level drug offenders do not qualify for resentencing under the retroactive provisions of the First Step Act. That was not Congress' intent in adopting the First Step Act.

This problem dates back to the drug epidemic of the 1980s. At that time, Congress enacted harsh penalties for Federal drug offenses, including mandatory minimum sentences.

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 created a 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.

In 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder from 100-1 to 18-1.

In 2018, Congress passed, and President Trump signed, the First Step Act into law. The First Step Act made the sentencing disparity provision retroactive, allowing individuals convicted of or sentenced for Federal drug offenses related to cocaine to move for a resentencing.

However, that law did not specifically address individuals whose crimes did not trigger the mandatory minimums. As a result, some of those individuals are serving longer sentences than those whose offenses triggered the mandatory minimums. This legislation today makes technical corrections and brings parity to crack-related offenses.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

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

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source