THE SMARTER SENTENCING ACT
H.R. 3382 – REPS. SCOTT/LABRADOR
S. 1410 – SENATORS LEE/DURBIN

Protects public safety. The Smarter Sentencing Act:
o Does not repeal any mandatory minimum sentences
o Applies only to nonviolent drug offenses, not violent, sex, or gun crimes
o Reduces mandatory minimum drug sentences from 20-, 10-, and 5-year terms to
more reasonable and less costly 10-, 5- and 2-year prison terms
o Gives fairer, more sensible punishments to low-level drug offenders. In FY2013,
 Half of all federal drug offenders had little or no criminal history
 84% didn’t use or possess a weapon
 93% played no leadership role in the offense
 60% got mandatory minimum sentences of 5, 10, 20 years, or life.

Brings federal drug sentences more into line with state drug sentences.
o 30 states across the country have reformed their mandatory sentencing laws and
seen continued declines in crime.
o 63% of Americans think moving away from mandatory minimum sentences for
drug offenders is a good thing.

Saves federal funding for programs that make us safer.
o In FY2015, federal prisons will consume more than 30% ($8.6 billion) of the
Department of Justice’s budget.
o The Smarter Sentencing Act will save billions of dollars over the next 10 years.
o Savings could fund law enforcement, prosecution, victim services, rehabilitation,
and reentry programs that keep us safe.

Downsizes prisons to protect guards and improve rehabilitation.
o Federal prisons are currently at 137% of their capacity.
o Overcrowded conditions make guards and inmates less safe and make reentry and
rehabilitation preparation more difficult.
o The American Correctional Association and 37,000 federal correctional officers –
the largest federal law enforcement group in the country – support the Smarter
Sentencing Act because it will make prisons safer, more rehabilitative places.

Reduces racial disparities, enhances fairness, and preserves public safety.
o The bill makes 8,800 federal prisoners – 87% of which are black – eligible to seek
sentences in compliance with the Fair Sentencing Act, which Congress passed
unanimously in 2010 to end the unfair, racially discriminatory 100-to-1 ratio
between crack and powder cocaine sentences.
o No one gets out of prison automatically – courts must review every case before
granting a sentence reduction. Courts have efficiently handled even larger
numbers of sentence reduction requests in the past.
o People who benefited from retroactive crack sentencing reforms in 2007
reoffended at slightly lower rates than those who did not receive reductions.
o Retroactivity increases fairness in and respect for the criminal justice system.