“We are encouraged to see our House colleagues continue a serious discussion about necessary reforms to our nation’s criminal justice system. However, as we move forward, reforms to federal sentencing laws must be a central part of this discussion. Such reforms, in combination with prison reform, will not only improve fairness in sentencing of low-level, nonviolent offenders, but also help law enforcement and the American taxpayer. The broadly bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act includes provisions to target limited law enforcement resources on violent offenders, major drug traffickers and criminal masterminds, and help to pay for costly, but effective, recidivism reduction programs. Over time, sentencing reform, coupled with reentry programs, can help to reduce crime, shrink the prison population and cut the deficit.
“For any criminal justice reform proposal to win approval in the Senate, it must include these sentencing reforms. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, has the bipartisan support of more than a quarter of the Senate and has already been approved by the Judiciary Committee,” Grassley and Durbin said.