[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1254 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1254

                       One Hundred Fourth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
  the fourth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-five


                                 An Act


 
    To disapprove of amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines 
    relating to lowering of crack sentences and sentences for money 
 laundering and transactions in property derived from unlawful activity.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DISAPPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS RELATING TO LOWERING OF CRACK 
SENTENCES AND SENTENCES FOR MONEY LAUNDERING AND TRANSACTIONS IN 
PROPERTY DERIVED FROM UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY.
    In accordance with section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, 
amendments numbered 5 and 18 of the ``Amendments to the Sentencing 
Guidelines, Policy Statements, and Official Commentary'', submitted by 
the United States Sentencing Commission to Congress on May 1, 1995, are 
hereby disapproved and shall not take effect.

SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF SENTENCING DISPARITY.

    (a) Recommendations.--
        (1) In general.--The United States Sentencing Commission shall 
    submit to Congress recommendations (and an explanation therefor), 
    regarding changes to the statutes and sentencing guidelines 
    governing sentences for unlawful manufacturing, importing, 
    exporting, and trafficking of cocaine, and like offenses, including 
    unlawful possession, possession with intent to commit any of the 
    forgoing offenses, and attempt and conspiracy to commit any of the 
    forgoing offenses. The recommendations shall reflect the following 
    considerations--
            (A) the sentence imposed for trafficking in a quantity of 
        crack cocaine should generally exceed the sentence imposed for 
        trafficking in a like quantity of powder cocaine;
            (B) high-level wholesale cocaine traffickers, organizers, 
        and leaders, of criminal activities should generally receive 
        longer sentences than low-level retail cocaine traffickers and 
        those who played a minor or minimal role in such criminal 
        activity;
            (C) if the Government establishes that a defendant who 
        traffics in powder cocaine has knowledge that such cocaine will 
        be converted into crack cocaine prior to its distribution to 
        individual users, the defendant should be treated at sentencing 
        as though the defendant had trafficked in crack cocaine; and
            (D) an enhanced sentence should generally be imposed on a 
        defendant who, in the course of an offense described in this 
        subsection--
                (i) murders or causes serious bodily injury to an 
            individual;
                (ii) uses a dangerous weapon;
                (iii) uses or possesses a firearm;
                (iv) involves a juvenile or a woman who the defendant 
            knows or should know to be pregnant;
                (v) engages in a continuing criminal enterprise or 
            commits other criminal offenses in order to facilitate his 
            drug trafficking activities;
                (vi) knows, or should know, that he is involving an 
            unusually vulnerable person;
                (vii) restrains a victim;
                (viii) traffics in cocaine within 500 feet of a school;
                (ix) obstructs justice;
                (x) has a significant prior criminal record; or
                (xi) is an organizer or leader of drug trafficking 
            activities involving five or more persons.
        (2) Ratio.--The recommendations described in the preceding 
    subsection shall propose revision of the drug quantity ratio of 
    crack cocaine to powder cocaine under the relevant statutes and 
    guidelines in a manner consistent with the ratios set for other 
    drugs and consistent with the objectives set forth in section 
    3553(a) of title 28 United States Code.
    (b) Study.--No later than May 1, 1996, the Department of Justice 
shall submit to the Judiciary Committees of the Senate and House of 
Representatives a report on the charging and plea practices of Federal 
prosecutors with respect to the offense of money laundering. Such study 
shall include an account of the steps taken or to be taken by the 
Justice Department to ensure consistency and appropriateness in the use 
of the money laundering statute. The Sentencing Commission shall submit 
to the Judiciary Committees comments on the study prepared by the 
Department of Justice.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.