SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS JOINS BIPARTISAN SENTENCING REFORM BILL, POSITIONING EQUAL ACT FOR PASSAGE

MOMENTUM CONTINUES TO GROW FOR BILL THAT FINALLY & FULLY ELIMINATES CRACK VS. POWDER COCAINE SENTENCING DISPARITY 

Conservative and Progressive Support in Key States is Strong – 361-66 House Vote Earlier This Year United Freedom Caucus with Progressive Caucus

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – As the year draws down, there’s still a shot to pass key bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation as Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) becomes the latest Republican to co-sponsor the EQUAL Act. This legislation, which received unprecedented bipartisan support in the House when it passed by a margin of 361-66, would finally and fully eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The disparity is a remnant of the failed “War on Drugs,” which has devastated poor and Black communities for decades. Senator Collins joins influential Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH), Rand Paul (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) as co-sponsors of the bill.

With the addition of Senator Collins, momentum for the EQUAL Act continues to grow, especially with conservatives. In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds, Former Governor Terry Branstad, Representative Ashley Hinson, Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Representative Randy Feenstra, Former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, and influential conservative activists encouraged Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley to support the EQUAL Act, citing conservative values and building on Former President Trump’s criminal justice reform legacy. The Iowa County Attorneys Association also wrote a letter expressing their enthusiastic support for the EQUAL Act, calling it a “necessary step toward making a better, more just world.” In Utah, the conservative Libertas Institute also endorsed the EQUAL Act, stating, “unfairly harsh penalties for low-level drug offenders at the federal level simply created more criminals rather than better citizens, wasting billions in taxpayer dollars.” And in Mississippi, the conservative group Empower Mississippi also wrote a letter expressing its support for ending the crack/powder disparity.

With this level of bipartisan support, the drumbeat grows louder for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to vote the EQUAL Act. In New York, more than twenty leading New York-based civil rights, racial justice and criminal justice organizations recently sent an urgent letter to Leader Schumer urging him to move the EQUAL Act through the Senate, “by any means necessary,” citing the need to deliver on overdue campaign promises to address mass incarceration. 

Today’s announcement that Senator Collins would co-sponsor the EQUAL Act was applauded by law enforcement and advocates from the right and left:

Holly Harris, President and Executive Director of the Justice Action Network:

“The EQUAL Act has support from influential Senate Republicans and Democrats, a rare and overwhelming bipartisan House vote of 361-66, the backing of police chiefs, prosecutors, civil rights groups, and advocates from the far right to the far left. All it needs now is a vote on the Senate floor.  

“Senator Collins has a long and distinguished record of reaching across the aisle and putting aside partisan rhetoric in the best interests of the American people. She is a bellwether for the Senate, and her support is a clear indication that momentum is building for the EQUAL Act. We are grateful to Senator Collins and her bipartisan co-sponsors for working together to advance measured, fair drug policies that lead to better economic outcomes, stronger families, and safer communities.”

Billy West, President, National District Attorneys Association:

“NDAA is thrilled that Senator Collins has joined this bipartisan effort to end the disparate treatment of crack cocaine and powder cocaine in federal sentencing. As momentum continues to grow, we join our partners in calling on Congress to send this commonsense reform to the President’s desk in the coming weeks. We look forward to the EQUAL Act becoming law and ensuring our criminal justice system is equitable and fair.”

Kevin Ring, President, FAMM:

“As we’ve been saying for months, eliminating the indefensible crack disparity is not a question of if, but when. Today, we got a little closer. It’s time for the Senate to join the overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House and pass the EQUAL Act now.”

Janos Martin, National Director, Dream Corps JUSTICE:

“We deeply appreciate Senator Collins for co-sponsoring the EQUAL Act, bringing more bipartisan support to this common-sense legislation, which has already passed overwhelmingly in the House.  Basic fairness is the bedrock of our criminal justice system, and passing this legislation 50 years into a failed War on Drugs is bringing people from across the political spectrum together. Dream Corps JUSTICE looks forward to getting this important bill through the Senate as soon as possible so that we can bring people home from long, unjust prison sentences.” 

Jason Pye, Director, Rule of Law Initiatives, Due Process Institute:

"We are thrilled that Senator Collins has joined the growing list of bipartisan co-sponsors of the EQUAL Act. The sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine is completely arbitrary and unjust. The EQUAL Act simply does what more than three dozen states already do—treat two substances that are chemically the same equally. The EQUAL Act represents a tremendous opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to come together and build off the success of the landmark First Step Act of 2018. The House has already acted. It's the Senate's turn to step up and pass the bipartisan EQUAL Act." 

Heather Rice-Minus, Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Church Mobilization, Prison Fellowship:

"The crack powder cocaine disparity is not evidence-based and has increased overincarceration among Americans, particularly in poor communities and in communities of color. We commend Senator Collins for joining the broad and bold coalition to correct this grave policy mistake and urge her colleagues in the Senate to swiftly take up and pass the EQUAL Act."

This landmark legislation has support from groups across the political spectrum, including the National District Attorneys Association, Americans for Tax Reform, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Prison Fellowship, Due Process Institute, Americans for Prosperity, FAMM, Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, Digital Liberty, Faith and Freedom Coalition, ALEC Action, R Street Institute, National Association for Public Defense, American Civil Liberties Union, Sentencing Project, Fair Trials, FreedomWorks, Center for American Progress, Drug Policy Alliance, Jesuit Conference, Black Public Defender Association, Dream Corps JUSTICE, Federal Public and Community Defenders, Innocence Project, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and Tzedek Association.