[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 161 (Wednesday, October 18, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H10211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DISCREPANCY IN MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCING

  (Mr. FLAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, this chamber is accustomed to numbers. We are 
told the numbers do not lie. Statistics are nonpartisan. Percentages 
are unbiased. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to bring you numbers 
that are biased--100 to 1. That is the discrepancy in mandatory minimum 
sentencing for crack cocaine to powder cocaine offenses. One hundred to 
one is an immense disparity. Worse, 100 to 1 is an unjustified 
disparity. And still worse, Mr. Speaker, 100 to 1 is a disparity that 
disproportionately targets the urban African-American community. This 
100-to-1 discrepancy is discriminatory on its face.
  The U.S. Sentencing Commission, along with Federal judges and civil 
rights groups, has recommended an elimination of the 100-to-1 
disparity, but today this Chamber may choose to reject that 
recommendation. Why? Is powder cocaine one-hundredth less deadly than 
crack? Does powder cocaine cause one-hundredth the violence that crack 
does? Or perhaps, have the misperceptions surrounding the communities 
in which one finds these drugs, affected the fairness of our laws?
  Drug trafficking is an abhorrent crime, Mr. Speaker, and should be 
dealt with harshly. But the numbers do not lie. One hundred to one is 
discriminatory. If we choose to mete out justice as a nation, Mr. 
Speaker, we must first ensure our laws are just.

                          ____________________