EQUAL Act

Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act or the EQUAL Act

This bill eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

Currently, different threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine (e.g., 28 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine) trigger the same statutory criminal penalties.

This bill eliminates the lower quantity thresholds for crack cocaine offenses. Under the bill, the same threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine trigger the same statutory criminal penalties.

The change applies to future cases and cases pending on the date of enactment. With respect to past cases, the bill authorizes resentencing of a defendant who was convicted or sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before the date of enactment.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 79 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 79

To eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 28, 2021

Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust 
Application of the Law Act'' or the ``EQUAL Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF INCREASED PENALTIES FOR COCAINE OFFENSES WHERE 
              THE COCAINE INVOLVED IS COCAINE BASE.

    (a) Controlled Substances Act.--The following provisions of the 
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) are repealed:
            (1) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(A) (21 U.S.C. 
        841(b)(1)(A)).
            (2) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(B) (21 U.S.C. 
        841(b)(1)(B)).
    (b) Controlled Substances Import and Export Act.--The following 
provisions of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 
U.S.C. 951 et seq.) are repealed:
            (1) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(1) (21 U.S.C. 
        960(b)(1)).
            (2) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(2) (21 U.S.C. 
        960(b)(2)).
    (c) Applicability to Pending and Past Cases.--
            (1) Pending cases.--This section, and the amendments made 
        by this section, shall apply to any sentence imposed after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, regardless of when the offense 
        was committed.
            (2) Past cases.--In the case of a defendant who, before the 
        date of enactment of this Act, was convicted or sentenced for a 
        Federal offense involving cocaine base, the sentencing court 
        may, on motion of the defendant, the Bureau of Prisons, the 
        attorney for the Government, or on its own motion, impose a 
        reduced sentence after considering the factors set forth in 
        section 3553(a) of title 18, United States Code.
                                 <all>