{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://labrador.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=845", "LABRADOR & SCOTT INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO REFORM CRIMINAL SENTENCING LAWS", "2013-10-30", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Ra\u00fal Labrador", "L000573", "labrador.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2013Rep. Ra\u00fal Labrador (R-ID) and Rep. Robert C. \"Bobby\" Scott (D-VA), members of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a landmark bipartisan bill today to bring common sense and flexibility to federal criminal sentencing laws.\u00a0 Their bill \u2013 the Smarter Sentencing Act \u2013 would allow courts to make individualized assessments in nonviolent drug cases, ensuring that limited resources are focused on the most serious offenders, while maintaining public safety.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\t\u201cWe must be strict, but also smart, when it comes to federal criminal sentencing,\u201d said Rep. Labrador.\u00a0 \u201cThe \u2018one-size-fits-all\u2019 approach Congress put on the books has tied the hands of judges without improving public safety.\u00a0 Nearly half of the inmates filling our federal prisons are incarcerated for drug offenses.\u00a0 Many of them do not need overly harsh penalties.\u00a0 And yet judges are forced to impose these penalties, even if they don\u2019t want to.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThe bill Rep. Scott and I are introducing today will empower judges to determine, on an individual level, when the harshest sentences should apply.\u00a0 This approach will improve justice, reduce the burden on taxpayers, and actually improve safety by enabling the justice system to focus on the most violent offenders.\u00a0 I am proud of the large number of groups \u2013 representing the whole ideological spectrum \u2013 who are supporting our bill, and I will work with my colleagues in a bipartisan way to get it passed.\u201d\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tDuring the past 30 years, the number of inmates in federal custody has grown by 500 percent, with nearly half of them serving sentences for drug offenses. Spending on federal incarceration has grown by more than 1100 percent.\u00a0 Today, it costs about $29,000 per year to house just one federal inmate.\u00a0 The Smarter Sentencing Act could save up to $1 billion in incarceration costs.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\t\"I am honored to join Congressman Labrador as a cosponsor of the Smarter Sentencing Act,\" said Rep. Scott.\u00a0 \"Granting federal judges more discretion in sentencing for nonviolent drug offenses is the right thing to do.\u00a0 Studies of mandatory minimums conclude that they fail to reduce crime, they waste the taxpayers\u2019 money, and they often require the imposition of sentences that violate common sense.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThis bipartisan bill targets particularly egregious mandatory minimums and returns discretion to federal judges in an incremental manner.\u00a0 This legislation is an important step in updating sentencing policies that are not working, that are costing taxpayers too much, and that do nothing to make our families and communities safer.\"\r\n\r\n\tThe Smarter Sentencing Act would do the following:\r\n\r\n\t\u00a7\u00a0 Increase individualized review for certain drug sentences\r\n\r\n\to\u00a0\u00a0 It would lower certain drug mandatory sentences, allowing judges to determine, based on individual circumstances, when the harshest penalties should apply (while not repealing any mandatory minimum sentences or lowering the maximum sentences for these offenses).\r\n\r\n\t\u00a7\u00a0 Promote sentencing consistent with the bipartisan Fair Sentencing Act\r\n\r\n\to\u00a0\u00a0 It would allow certain inmates sentenced under the pre-Fair Sentencing Act sentencing regime to petition for sentence reductions consistent with the Fair Sentencing Act and current law, while not automatically reducing a single sentence.\r\n\r\n\t\u00a7\u00a0 Expand the existing federal \u201csafety valve\u201d \r\n\r\n\to\u00a0\u00a0 The legislative \u201csafety valve\u201d has been effective in allowing federal judges to appropriately sentence certain non-violent drug offenders below existing mandatory minimums. Today\u2019s bill would modestly broaden criteria for eligibility.\r\n\r\n\tIn introducing today\u2019s bill, Reps. Labrador and Scott are joined by Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Rep. Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY), Rep. Henry C. \u201cHank\u201d Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), and Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA).\r\n\r\n\tThe Smarter Sentencing Act isHouse companion legislation to S. 1401, introduced by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.\r\n\r\n\tThe Smarter Sentencing Act is endorsed by Heritage Action; Justice Fellowship of Prison Fellowship Ministries; ACLU; American Correctional Association; American Bar Association; NAACP; Constitution Project; and other organizations across the ideological spectrum.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://labrador.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=845"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1747521348297596, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}