Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Bill on Criminal Justice Reform
Oct 23, 2015
WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee today passed the bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act in a vote of 15-5. The bill grants judges greater sentencing flexibility for certain low-level drug offenders and establishes recidivism reduction programs, while targeting violent criminals.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is an original cosponsor of the legislation. Below are his remarks from today’s markup, as prepared for delivery, and a video of Lee correcting misconceptions about the bill can be viewed here.
The bill narrows the scope of mandatory minimum prison sentences to focus on the most serious drug offenders and violent criminals, while broadening and establishing new outlets for individuals with minimal non-felony criminal histories that may trigger mandatory minimum sentences under current law. The bill also reduces certain mandatory minimums, providing judges with greater discretion when determining appropriate sentences, and preserves cooperation incentives to aid law enforcement in tracking down kingpins.
In addition to reducing prison terms for certain offenders through sentencing reform, qualifying inmates can earn reduced sentences through recidivism reduction programs outlined in the CORRECTIONS Act introduced by Cornyn and Whitehouse. The bill also makes retroactive the Fair Sentencing Act and certain statutory reforms that address inequities in drug sentences.
The bill is the product of a thoughtful bipartisan deliberation. In addition to Senator Lee, original cosponsors include Senators Grassley (R-IA), Durbin (D-IL), Cornyn (R-TX), Whitehouse (D-RI), Schumer (D-NY), Graham (R-SC), Leahy (D-VT), Booker (D-NJ), and Scott (R-SC). Other cosponsors include Senators Tillis (R-NC), Coons (D-DE), Moran (R-Kan.), Feinstein (D-Cal.), Flake (R-AZ.), Blumenthal (D-CT), Franken (D-MN), and Klobuchar (D-MN).
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is an original cosponsor of the legislation. Below are his remarks from today’s markup, as prepared for delivery, and a video of Lee correcting misconceptions about the bill can be viewed here.
“Since my time as a prosecutor, I have been concerned by the excesses of our federal criminal justice system. In many cases where there is no evidence of actual violence, the long sentences required by federal mandatory minimums are unjust. That’s why, more than two years ago now, Senator Durbin and I first introduced the Smarter Sentencing Act. I believe we can make sentencing more fair and efficient without reducing public safety. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act achieves that goal by reducing the most severe penalties that often lead to disproportionate outcomes, by expanding the availability of safety valve relief, and by increasing opportunities and incentives for rehabilitative programming in federal prison.
“Our criminal justice system has to be flexible enough to apply in many different situations. Prosecutors and judges must have the ability to impose lengthy sentences on serious offenders who pose the greatest threat to public safety, just as they must have the ability to impose modest sentences on those who violate our laws but do not pose an ongoing threat to public safety. So this bill leaves untouched the maximum penalty levels that exist under current law, and for some offenders, it increases those punishments. It also does not eliminate any mandatory minimum sentences but instead takes a targeted approach, reducing the harshest mandatory penalties and providing limited relief for low-level offenders with limited criminal history.
"It is not just to keep people in jail until they are 70 or 80 just because they sold drugs or had a gun. Unfortunately, this is precisely the situation we have created with many of our lengthy mandatory prison sentences, as you who have heard me tell about Weldon Angelos well know. Sentences like these are just too high: they impose real costs, both human and financial; they are out of step with American tradition; and they have to be fixed. It’s not sufficient anymore to say that sentences like these – sentences that don’t fit the crime – are the cost of doing business. They aren’t – we can fix them, and this bill does.”
The bill narrows the scope of mandatory minimum prison sentences to focus on the most serious drug offenders and violent criminals, while broadening and establishing new outlets for individuals with minimal non-felony criminal histories that may trigger mandatory minimum sentences under current law. The bill also reduces certain mandatory minimums, providing judges with greater discretion when determining appropriate sentences, and preserves cooperation incentives to aid law enforcement in tracking down kingpins.
In addition to reducing prison terms for certain offenders through sentencing reform, qualifying inmates can earn reduced sentences through recidivism reduction programs outlined in the CORRECTIONS Act introduced by Cornyn and Whitehouse. The bill also makes retroactive the Fair Sentencing Act and certain statutory reforms that address inequities in drug sentences.
The bill is the product of a thoughtful bipartisan deliberation. In addition to Senator Lee, original cosponsors include Senators Grassley (R-IA), Durbin (D-IL), Cornyn (R-TX), Whitehouse (D-RI), Schumer (D-NY), Graham (R-SC), Leahy (D-VT), Booker (D-NJ), and Scott (R-SC). Other cosponsors include Senators Tillis (R-NC), Coons (D-DE), Moran (R-Kan.), Feinstein (D-Cal.), Flake (R-AZ.), Blumenthal (D-CT), Franken (D-MN), and Klobuchar (D-MN).
Big Egg vs Little Mayo – Questioning the Legitimacy of Agricultural Check-off Programs
Oct 23, 2015
There is perhaps no better illustration of how, and for whom, the federal government works today than the case of the American Egg Board and its hostility toward a start-up food company called Hampton Creek.
Let’s Be Honest About the Debt Limit
Oct 22, 2015
Here we go again. The federal government has predictably maxed out its credit card for the fifth time in the last four years. The Treasury Department now insists there will be “catastrophic economic consequences” unless the debt limit is raised by November 3.
Lee, Cruz, And Rubio Issue Joint Statement on House Reconciliation Bill
Oct 22, 2015
WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement Thursday in anticipation of Friday’s House vote on H.R. 3762:
“On Friday the House of Representatives is set to vote on a reconciliation bill that repeals only parts of Obamacare. This simply isn’t good enough. Each of us campaigned on a promise to fully repeal Obamacare and a reconciliation bill is the best way to send such legislation to President Obama’s desk. If this bill cannot be amended so that it fully repeals Obamacare pursuant to Senate rules, we cannot support this bill. With millions of Americans now getting health premium increase notices in the mail, we owe our constituents nothing less.”
Lee Battles Big Egg In Defense of Little Mayo
Oct 20, 2015
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today calling for an investigation into the America Egg Board and their alleged anti-competitive campaign against Hampton Creek’s “Just Mayo” vegan mayonnaise.
Lee, Klobuchar Announce Hearing On Proposed SABMiller Acquisition by Anheuser-Busch Inbev
Oct 20, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC— Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, today announced the committee will hold a hearing on Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposal to purchase SABMiller for over $103 billion. The hearing will examine how the proposed merger of the world’s two biggest beer producers would impact competition and consumers across the country.
America’s national security depends on what takes place in Northern Utah
Oct 16, 2015
Earlier this week, I had the honor of speaking with a group of service members, civilians, and contractors from the Hill Air Force Base and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, as well as leaders and representatives from the Air Combat Command and Air Force Sustainment Center. The occasion of the event was the arrival of the first operational F-35 fighter jets to the 388th fighter wing at Hill AFB.
Congress Needs Uber-Level Innovation
Oct 15, 2015
The Republican establishment’s failure of leadership over the years is no excuse for conservatives’ failure of imagination now. Conservatives have to start working immediately on our own agenda of prudent but disruptive institutional innovation, so that regardless of who the next Speaker is, he or she will walk into the job with a blueprint for success.
Lee and Klobuchar Statement on SABMiller Acquisition by Anheuser-Busch Inbev
Oct 14, 2015
WASHINGTON—Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, issued the following statements today regarding Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposal to purchase SABMiller for over $103 billion.
“The proposed acquisition of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch Inbev announced today, if consummated, would rank among the five largest mergers in history and consolidate approximately 70 percent of the U.S. beer market,” Lee said. "A deal of this size and scope demands close scrutiny of its impact on competition. In addition to the thorough review I expect this deal to receive from the agencies, should the parties reach a final agreement, the Antitrust Subcommittee will also be looking closely into how the merger may affect consumers and the marketplace.”
“The U.S. beer market is a $100 billion a year industry and Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposed acquisition of SABMiller raises important antitrust concerns,” Klobuchar said. “The merger could have negative consequences for consumers, including increased cost, and could deprive our thriving craft and independent brewers of distribution channels critical for reaching retail customers. The Antitrust Subcommittee must provide oversight and examine this deal closely.”
“The proposed acquisition of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch Inbev announced today, if consummated, would rank among the five largest mergers in history and consolidate approximately 70 percent of the U.S. beer market,” Lee said. "A deal of this size and scope demands close scrutiny of its impact on competition. In addition to the thorough review I expect this deal to receive from the agencies, should the parties reach a final agreement, the Antitrust Subcommittee will also be looking closely into how the merger may affect consumers and the marketplace.”
“The U.S. beer market is a $100 billion a year industry and Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposed acquisition of SABMiller raises important antitrust concerns,” Klobuchar said. “The merger could have negative consequences for consumers, including increased cost, and could deprive our thriving craft and independent brewers of distribution channels critical for reaching retail customers. The Antitrust Subcommittee must provide oversight and examine this deal closely.”
At the Utah Food Bank with Senator Ben Sasse
Oct 13, 2015
It’s not every day that I get to stand in front of a group of people and say that “we’re here today because I won a bet.” But the terms of this particular wager were just too good to turn down. If, by some miracle, Nebraska had ended up beating BYU, I would have sent ten of America’s finest turkeys, from Norbest turkey farms in Sanpete County, to the Omaha Open Door Mission – a wonderful Gospel Rescue Mission in Omaha, Nebraska. But because the Cougars were victorious over the Cornhuskers, Senator Ben Sasse agreed to buy ten delicious pork loins from Pillen Family Farms in Nebraska for the Utah Food Bank.
