Photo Courtesy of Rep. Jeffries
“The EQUAL Act will help reverse engineer the tragic legacy of the failed war on drugs which has devastated lives, families and communities,” Rep. Jeffries said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
On Tuesday, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (Howard Beach and Brooklyn), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, led all House Members of the Congressional Black Caucus in calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin to bring H.R. 1693, the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act to the Senate floor for a vote.
The bipartisan legislation would eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and provide retroactive relief to those already convicted and sentenced. In September, the House passed the legislation 361 to 66 with 143 republican votes.
“The EQUAL Act is ready for Senate consideration,” wrote the members. “Today, the legislation has 21 cosponsors in the Senate, including 11 Republicans, indicating that it would likely clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.”
Photo Courtesy of Sen. Schumer
All House Members of the Congressional Black Caucus called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (pictured) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin to bring the EQUAL Act to the Senate floor for a vote.
The sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine, at one point as high as 100 to 1, helped fuel the mass incarceration epidemic. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, in Fiscal Year 2020, 77.1 percent of crack cocaine trafficking offenders were Black, whereas most powder cocaine trafficking offenders were either white or Hispanic. In 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act reduced the sentencing disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1, and in 2018 the First Step Act made that reduction retroactive.
The EQUAL Act “would eliminate the crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and ensure that those who were convicted or sentenced for a federal offense involving cocaine can receive a re-sentencing under the new law,” continued the Members. “In total, the EQUAL Act will reduce excessive prison time by 67,800 years.”
Jeffries said, “The EQUAL Act will help reverse engineer the tragic legacy of the failed war on drugs which has devastated lives, families and communities. There is no justification for treating powder cocaine differently than crack cocaine offenses. There is no pharmacological difference and no significant chemical difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, and they both cause identical effects. Crack cocaine has historically been used in inner-city communities and powder cocaine in affluent neighborhoods and the suburbs. That does not justify the wide disparity in sentencing.”
