IN RARE MOMENT OF BIPARTISANSHIP, HOUSE PASSES HISTORIC SENTENCING REFORM BILL

The EQUAL Act, Landmark Legislation Sponsored by Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Finally Eliminates Thirty-Year Crack vs Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity That Disproportionately Impacted Black Communities – Policy is a Final Vestige of Failed ‘War On Drugs 

Three Years After Passage of First Step Act, Congress Proves Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Alive and Well with Rare 361 to 66 Bipartisan Vote on EQUAL Act 

Justice Action Network’s Holly Harris: “On this, the fifty year anniversary of the failed ‘War on Drugs,’ we are grateful for this landmark bipartisan vote for EQUAL Act, which will finally eliminate a sentencing disparity that stole the lives of thousands of Americans struggling with addiction.”

(Washington, DC) – Today, Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives united for a brief moment to pass the EQUAL Act, criminal justice reform legislation to eliminate the 18:1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, the most impactful criminal justice reform passed by the chamber since it voted the First Step Act three years ago.

The bill is sponsored in the House by an unlikely bipartisan duo, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), who rallied support for the bill from the Freedom Caucus to the Progressive Caucus, recruiting co-sponsors such as Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who carried the bill on the floor for the GOP, to Mondaire Jones (D-NY). The EQUAL Act is also supported by major law enforcement organizations and advocacy groups from across the political spectrum, including the Major Cities Chiefs Association and National District Attorneys Association. 

Justice Action Network (JAN) , the country’s largest organization dedicated to bipartisan criminal justice reform at the federal and state levels, is a leading voice for the bill, as it was for the First Step Act in 2018. Late this summer, JAN commissioned polling showing broad support for the EQUAL Act among conservative and Republican voters.

Please credit the followings statement to Holly Harris, Justice Action Network President and Executive Director:

“Today’s historic vote to eliminate a relic of the failed ‘War on Drugs’ proves our leaders can still reach across the aisle and put people above partisanship. The EQUAL Act corrects an injustice that has stolen lives from thousands of Americans struggling with addiction, disproportionately impacting Black communities. The unjustifiable 18:1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine does nothing to keep us safer, and instead has bred deep distrust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.  That’s why law enforcement leaders support the EQUAL Act, and why the bill received a rare, overwhelming bipartisan vote.

“We are grateful to our stalwart champions and primary bill sponsors Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Kelly Armstrong, and to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and Rep. Louie Gohmert, who brilliantly managed this bill on the floor. With today’s massive bipartisan vote for the EQUAL Act, there is a wave of inevitability around this groundbreaking legislation. As we turn to the Senate, we look to our powerful anchors Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley to address unfair sentencing in their forthcoming criminal justice reform package, and our broad coalition stands with them as they work to make history once again.”

The EQUAL Act previously passed the House Judiciary Committee with an overwhelmingly bipartisan 36-5 vote. In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Rand Paul (R-KY), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Equal Act is also supported by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National District Attorneys Association, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and a wide array of groups including: ALEC Action, American Society of Addiction Medicine, Addiction Policy Forum, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Catholic Mobilizing Network, Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, Center for Shared Justice, Dream Corps JUSTICE, Due Process Institute, Episcopal Church Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, FAMM, Fair Trials, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Federal Public and Community Defenders, FreedomWorks, Innocence Project, Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology, Justice Action Network, National Association for Public Defense, National Association of Evangelicals, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Prison Fellowship, R Street Institute, The Sentencing Project, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and Tzedek Association.