NEWS: SENATE MAJORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER COSPONSORS KEY RACIAL JUSTICE REFORM BILL
EQUAL ACT SUPPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT, NEW YORK CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS, AND NYC MAYOR
Legislation Passed the House with Overwhelming 361-66 Vote, Uniting Right, Center & Left, Now Poised for Passage in the Senate
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) became a cosponsor of the EQUAL Act, a bipartisan bill that would fully and finally eliminate the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The disparity is one of the worst vestiges of the failed War on Drugs, and has devastated poor and Black communities in New York and across the country.
Leader Schumer’s cosponsorship is just the latest indication of growing momentum behind this critical criminal justice measure. Just this month, the bill has been endorsed by two of the nation’s leading law enforcement voices, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. In the last two weeks, the bill has gained seven new Senate cosponsors including Leader Schumer, bringing the total number of senators signed on to the bill to 20. The EQUAL Act already passed the House of Representatives with a resounding 361 to 66 vote, demonstrating bipartisan support ranging from members of the Freedom Caucus to the Progressive Caucus.
New York racial justice and civil rights groups have been calling on Leader Schumer to bring the bill to a vote on the floor in the Senate, with letters sent in November 2021 and February of this year signed by Citizen Action NY, Dream Corps Justice, Hispanic Federation, Innocence Project, JustLeadershipUSA, NAACP New York Conference, New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New York Urban League, New Yorkers United for Justice, Drug Policy Alliance, and Vera Institute of Justice.
Leader Schumer joins New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the driving forces behind this campaign to correct one of the most overt racial injustices in federal criminal law. The bill is also cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH), Rand Paul (R-KY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).
Leader Schumer’s sponsorship of the EQUAL Act was applauded by New York criminal justice and civil rights advocates:
Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League:
“The crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity, which was implemented without any scientific basis or justification, has been used as a tool for racial injustice in our legal system for over 35 years. It has resulted in egregious and unjust sentences for Black Americans, who are more likely to be convicted of crack offenses, and has not achieved its intended purpose of reducing drug overdoses or crime in our communities. The EQUAL Act is essential to rectifying this discriminatory relic from the War on Drugs and we thank Leader Schumer for his support of this measure and his commitment to advancing the bill to the Senate floor.”
Inimai Chettiar, Federal Director, Justice Action Network, former Justice Director of the Brennan Center for Justice:
“I applaud Leader Schumer for cosponsoring the EQUAL Act and for his outstanding leadership and deep commitment to criminal justice reform. New York families and communities have been unfairly targeted by the failed War on Drugs for decades, and I am proud to see my Senator taking a stand to end this injustice. I urge him to bring the EQUALAct to the floor as soon as possible so that the legislation can be sent to the President's desk."
Janos Marton, National Director, Dream Corps JUSTICE:
“As a New Yorker who has seen the devastating impact of the War on Drugs on our communities, I am deeply grateful for Senator Schumer's cosponsorship of the EQUAL Act. New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws helped set decades of racist policies in motion, and with legislation, we can not only reunite thousands of families, but start to undo the harms of that era. We look forward to Senator Schumer's leadership in getting this bipartisan bill across the finish line.”
Frankie Miranda, President and CEO, Hispanic Federation:
“Hispanic Federation applauds Senator Schumer for cosponsoring the EQUAL Act. This support is essential to fully eliminating this harmful federal sentencing disparity once and for all. Unfair sentencing has caused astonishingly disproportionate incarceration rates of Latinos and other people of color, hurting countless families for over thirty years. Ending this injustice is long overdue. We urge the Senate to act swiftly and pass this crucial legislation.”
Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law:
“We are thankful Senator Schumer is co-sponsoring the EQUAL Act. Our overly harsh sentencing laws for crack cocaine have been particularly devastating for Black Americans, despite rates of drug use being similar for people of all races. Passing the EQUAL Act would be a major step toward reducing racial disparities in the federal criminal legal system. Such reforms can be both transformative and bipartisan. This legislation would make federal sentencing fairer while reducing the enduring harms of discredited drug war policies.”
Melissa Moore, Director of Civil Systems Reform, Drug Policy Alliance:
“We applaud Majority Leader Schumer for taking a stand for justice and co-sponsoring the EQUAL Act. The sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine – despite the chemical structure of the substances being nearly identical – is an unacceptable, harmful relic of drug war hysteria that has magnified racial disparities in the criminal legal system and continues to disproportionately impact communities of color. Even though the majority of crack cocaine users are white, Black people are more likely to be convicted of exorbitantly long crack cocaine offenses, while white people receive much less severe powder cocaine sentences. Congress must act to undo this grave injustice and shift our nation’s approach to drugs away from criminalization and toward policies that are instead rooted in science, compassion, and public health.”
Topeka K. Sam, Founder and CEO, Ladies of Hope Ministries:
"It’s long past time to resolve the racist disparity that has disproportionately harmed Black women, their families, and communities. The EQUAL Act is a critical step to undoing a longstanding injustice. We are encouraged by the building support in the Senate and urge them to act swiftly to pass this legislation and shift our nation’s policies away from criminalization and punishment and toward more effective policies grounded in science, compassion, and public health.”
Alexander Horwitz, Executive Director, New Yorkers United for Justice:
"The New Yorkers United for Justice (NYUJ) Coalition applauds Senator Schumer and his colleagues who have made the just, courageous decision to support the EQUAL Act and end the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. These disparities have enabled mass incarceration and reinforced blatant racism in our justice system for far too long. This is a critical step forward for our nation towards true equality and fairness under the law, and we hope to see the U.S. Senate swiftly pass this important legislation."
The EQUAL Act has support from law enforcement and advocacy groups across the political spectrum, including the National District Attorneys Association, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, ALEC Action, American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Black Public Defender Association, Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, Center for American Progress, Digital Liberty, Dream Corps JUSTICE, Drug Policy Alliance, Due Process Institute, Fair Trials, Faith and Freedom Coalition, FAMM, Federal Public and Community Defenders, FreedomWorks, Hispanic Federation, Innocence Project, Jesuit Conference, National Association for Public Defense, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Prison Fellowship, R Street Institute, Sentencing Project, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and Tzedek Association.