[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1344-E1345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   IMPORTANT NEWS ON THE DRUG ISSUES

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 27, 1995
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with you some 
important news on the drug issue. In April of this year, the U.S. 
Sentencing Commission recommended that Congress end the sentencing 
disparity between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Congress ought to 
ignore this politically correct suggestion and reaffirm its well-
considered position that offenses involving crack cocaine deserve more 
severe punishment than those involving powder cocaine.
  Under current Federal law, there is a 100:1 powder/crack ratio. That 
is, possession or distribution of 100 grams of powder is treated as 

[[Page E 1345]]
the equivalent of possession or distribution of one gram of crack for 
sentencing purposes. Therefore as the law currently stands, a first-
time offender involved with one gram of crack would receive the same 5-
year mandatory minimum sentence as another first-time offender arrested 
for an offense involving 100 grams of powder cocaine.
  The Sentencing Commission recommends that Congress rewrite the law 
and treat crack and powder cocaine on an equal basis. Evidently, some 
members believe that there is no reason for the disparity. In my 
opinion, Congress in the 1980's reacted properly to the crack epidemic 
gripping vulnerable innercity communities. This body saw the 
destruction wrought on entire communities by this cheap and highly 
addictive form of cocaine and decided that crack offenses ought to be 
punished more severely than powder offenses because of the violence 
associated with the use and trafficking of crack.
  I would alert my colleagues that there is another way to achieving 
equal treatment of crack and powder cocaine: Instead of lowering the 
penalties for crack offenses, as the Sentencing Commission proposes, we 
should increase the punishment for powder offenses. The advantages 
would be two-fold: First, it would prevent opponents from playing the 
``race card.'' Second, it would stiffen the penalties for cocaine 
offenses, which are currently far too lenient.
  Whatever path is taken--maintaining the current ratio--or mildly 
reducing it--or raising the penalties for powder offenses to achieve 
equal treatment--one point must be emphasized: Congress must do 
something. For if Congress fails to address the hasty recommendation 
offered by the Sentencing Commission, it will automatically become law 
on November 1, 1995.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time I would submit into the Congressional 
Record a position paper on this subject drafted by Drug Watch 
International.
                            Alert, June 1995

       A massive federal decriminalization of the most dangerous 
     drug destroying our communities and feeding the wave of 
     inner-city violence is poised to become law! And it will 
     happen automatically on November 1, 1995, unless Congress 
     stops it.
       Crack dealing, even in large amounts, is about to be 99 
     percent decriminalized.
       The greatest weapon used by federal prosecutors to protect 
     urban, inner-city communities from gangs and gang violence 
     will be 99 percent defused.
       Who will benefit? Gang leaders and crack dealers whose 
     business and activities are already destroying the lives and 
     the future of one of the most vulnerable segments of our 
     society.
       Who will be hurt? The children of crack addicts who will 
     continue to have everything of value in their households, 
     including the money for food and clothing, and sometimes even 
     their own bodies, given or sold by their parents to crack 
     dealers for just one more fix. And the other helpless 
     hostages of gangs in communities in which the most violent 
     predators among them will be able to walk in the open with 
     more confidence as they build their empires of drugs and 
     violence.
       How will it happen? The United States Sentencing 
     Commission, which sets the guidelines federal judges must 
     follow in imposing sentences, has recommended that the 
     sentencing guidelines for crack offenses be reduced to equal 
     the far lesser penalties for cocaine powder. Currently, one 
     unit of crack is treated as the equivalent of 100 units of 
     cocaine for sentencing purposes. That 100:1 ratio is also 
     embodied in the federal mandatory minimum sentences, which 
     provide a mandatory five year sentence for offenses involving 
     five grams of crack (or 500 grams of cocaine), and 10 years 
     for 50 grams of crack (or 5 kilograms of cocaine).
       By law if Congress takes no action to stop it on November 
     1, 1995 it will take 100 times as much crack in an offense to 
     get the same sentence as today. The Sentencing Commission 
     recommendation will pass automatically. That is the way 
     Congress set it up. Therefore, no one will be on the record 
     favoring a massive decriminalization. It will just sneak on 
     through and become law.
       Effective investigation and prosecution of organized gang 
     crimes invariably requires the undercover assistance and 
     later trial testimony of gang members who have access to the 
     gang's leadership and knowledge of the gang's inner workings. 
     Such key gang insiders only agree to cooperate with agents 
     and prosecutors when they fear federal sentences more than 
     they fear and are loyal to their fellow gang members. Gangs 
     thrive in prisons, and short prison sentences only give gang 
     members a chance to advance in rank and return to the streets 
     with more power than when they went in. Only very long 
     sentences can remove the smirk from a hardened gang member's 
     face and make him even consider helping the police.
       If the sentences for crack crimes are reduced as proposed, 
     the smirk will return. The threat will go out of federal 
     sentences. Agents and prosecutors will be largely disarmed in 
     their fight against the most dangerous and destructive 
     predators in our cities.
       Some people believe the drug laws are too harsh on those 
     predators, and want to ease up on the federal pressure on 
     gangs. At the moment, those sympathizers are in control. Only 
     Congress can stop them, but most members of Congress may not 
     even be aware of or understand the threat, so they will do 
     nothing. Which means the decriminalizers win, automatically!
       For the sake of the most vulnerable in our society, we must 
     not let that happen!
       The penalties for cocaine powder should be raised to equal 
     those of crack, not the other way around.