Armstrong applauds committee passage of bill to end cocaine sentencing disparity

U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) joined a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers to commend passage by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee of their bill to eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses.

“We applaud our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee for its overwhelming passage and look forward to its full consideration by the House,” said Rep. Armstrong and his colleagues in a joint statement released on July 21.

The House Judiciary Committee on July 21 voted 36-5 to approve the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act, H.R. 1693, which Rep. Armstrong cosponsored in March with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and two other original cosponsors, U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Don Bacon (R-NE).

If enacted, H.R. 1693 specifically would eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and retroactively apply it to those already convicted or sentenced. At one point the sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine was as high as 100 to 1, according to Rep. Armstrong’s office.

“The failed war on drugs, which started 50 years ago, has devastated lives, families and communities across our country,” the members said. “For decades, the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine has been used to fuel a mass incarceration epidemic that has unjustly put millions behind bars for too long and cost taxpayers billions of dollars without benefiting public safety.”

H.R. 1693 is the identical bill to S. 79, which was sponsored in January by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).