I knew it was coming. There has been so much attention paid to sentencing policies in the past six months that it was only a matter of time before one of the half-dozen sentencing bills in Congress would start moving. Today it did.
The Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009, sponsored by Representative Robert "Bobby" Scott (D-Va.), was "marked up" today in a House judiciary subcommittee, sending it on its way to the full House Judiciary Committee for a vote. The bill, H.R. 3245, eliminates the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and gets rid of the mandatory minimum sentence for possession of five grams or more of crack cocaine.
"Marking up" is the third step in the life of a bill. First it is introduced, then a hearing is held on the bill, and then it is "marked up." Marking up a bill means debating, amending, and rewriting it, if necessary. This bill was discussed and approved in a unanimous, bipartisan vote and then "reported out" of the subcommittee. Next stop for the bill is the full House Judiciary Committee, where it will be considered and voted on. To learn more about the bill, the vote and what happens next, please go to our website,
www.famm.org.
You're making this happen! You have donated, written letters, called Congress, written your newspapers and traveled half way across the country to meet with your members of Congress. Please keep up the calls, the visits, the donations and the letters to the editors.
Together we will walk this bill through the House of Representatives, the Senate and deliver it to the President for his signature, turning it into law!
Best,
Julie
Julie Stewart
President, FAMM