[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 198 (Monday, December 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7649-S7650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         FIRST STEP Act of 2018

  Mr. GRASSLEY. We are here today to begin debate on a piece of 
legislation called the FIRST STEP Act of 2018. This happens to be the 
most significant criminal justice reform bill in a generation.
  Our country is based upon the rule of law. If someone commits a 
crime, they should be punished, and that punishment should be severe 
enough to deter others from committing crimes.
  But for our criminal justice system to serve our society well, it has 
to do more than punish and deter. Recidivism rates are far too high and 
drive crime rates up. In the Federal system, 49 percent of prisoners 
are rearrested within 8 years, and 32 percent are convicted of new 
crimes. We must better prepare prisoners to leave behind their criminal 
past and to become productive citizens when they leave the prison 
system.
  We also need to make sure that criminal sentences are tough enough to 
punish and deter, but not be unjustly harsh. Sentences should not 
destroy the opportunity of redemption for inmates willing to get right 
with the law.
  The FIRST STEP Act is tough on crime, but it is also fair. To tackle 
the recidivism rates in our country, the bill establishes evidence-
based programming that has reduced recidivism at the State level. We 
have evidence from the States of Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, and many 
others to justify that fact.
  The bill provides incentives for inmates willing to put in the work 
to complete these programs. Under this bill, a prisoner may earn 10 
days of time credit for every 30 days of successful participation, 
which they can apply toward prerelease custody. However, access to 
these incentives is available only to those who pose little risk of 
committing new crimes.
  The FIRST STEP Act requires the Bureau of Prisons to implement a risk 
assessment system to determine an inmate's risk of returning to crime 
after prison.
  Access to the earned-time credits is limited to those who pose a 
minimum or low risk. The bill also makes clear that violent and high-
risk criminals convicted of certain serious offenses are ineligible for 
the prerelease custody program.
  The list of disqualifying offenses includes crimes relating to 
terrorism, murder, sexual exploitation of children, and gun crimes, 
among others that are listed in the bill. All fentanyl traffickers are 
disqualified from earning time credits.
  The bill also makes sentencing fairer by returning some discretion to 
judges during sentencing. Some have called for eliminating mandatory 
minimums or cutting them back severely.
  I happen to be a supporter of mandatory minimum sentences because it 
helps law enforcement take down criminal enterprises, but at the same 
time, I recognize there is some unfairness in how these mandatory 
minimum sentences are sometimes applied. The FIRST STEP Act leaves in 
place these maximum sentences but also addresses overly harsh and 
expensive mandatory minimums for certain nonviolent offenders. Locking 
up low-level offenders for needlessly long prison sentences diverts 
resources that are needed elsewhere to fight crime.
  To address this, the FIRST STEP Act makes a number of changes to 
sentencing guidelines. First, the legislation clarifies that enhanced 
penalties for using a firearm during a crime of violence or drug crime 
should be reserved for repeat offenders of such crimes. That is what 
Congress had intended when it created the enhanced penalty in the first 
place.
  Second, the bill would reduce the three-strike penalty for life 
imprisonment to 25 years. The 20-year minimum is reduced to 15 years. 
The bill also broadens the mandatory penalties, applying them to more 
of the worst criminals.
  Third, the bill provides for more judicial discretion by expanding 
the existing Federal safety valve to include more low-level, nonviolent 
offenders. Consistent with the existing law, the judge cannot apply the 
safety valve unless the defendant has fully cooperated with law 
enforcement.
  Lastly, the bill also allows for the retroactive application of the 
Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the 100-to-1 disparity in 
sentencing between crack and powder cocaine.
  I want to acknowledge President Trump's leadership on criminal 
justice reform. Without the President's engagement, we wouldn't be here 
today.

[[Page S7650]]

The President deserves credit for brokering a deal that improves 
fairness and supports law enforcement.
  A tremendous amount of credit is also due to my colleagues in the 
Senate who helped to forge a bipartisan compromise on complex issues. I 
emphasize ``bipartisan compromise'' because the people in the 
grassroots of America, even in my State of Iowa, think there isn't much 
bipartisanship going on here.
  I would especially like to thank my colleague, Senator Durbin. He has 
been a partner through this entire process.
  A bipartisan cosponsor includes Senator Lee, who has done a 
tremendous amount of work on this. In fact, he started with Senator 
Durbin before I even got involved. We also have cosponsorships by 
Senators Booker, Graham, Whitehouse, Scott, Feinstein, Cornyn, and 
Leahy. They all deserve praise for reaching this deal.
  The product of years of negotiating and listening to each other is a 
bill that will reduce crime, strengthen faith in our judicial system, 
support law enforcement, and give thousands of people a better shot at 
living good lives.
  As we go to this very important first vote on this bill, which is to 
invoke cloture, I urge all of my colleagues to join with President 
Trump and our bipartisan coalition of supporters to support the FIRST 
STEP Act.
  I yield the floor.

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