Justice Safety Valve Act

Floor Speech

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last week the Department of Justice announced that the total U.S. prison population declined 1.7 percent from 2011 to 2012. I was encouraged to see that sentencing reform at the State level continues to pay dividends by simultaneously reducing prison costs and crime rates.

I am troubled, however, that the entirety of the reduction in the U.S. prison population was attributable to the States. The number of Federal prisoners actually increased by almost 1,500 from 2011 to 2012. While this increase was smaller than in previous years, the Federal Government can no longer afford to continue on the course of ever-increasing prison costs. As of last week, the Federal prison population was over 219,000, with almost half of those men and women imprisoned on drug charges. This year, the Bureau of Prisons budget request was just below $7 billion.

A major factor driving the increase in the incarceration rate has been the proliferation of Federal mandatory minimum sentences in the last 20 years. This one-size-fits-all approach to sentencing never made us safer, but it has cost us plenty. We must change course. In September, the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine the effects of Federal mandatory minimum sentences and measures to reform the system in order to combat injustice in sentencing and the waste of taxpayer dollars.

In March, I joined with Senator Paul to introduce just such a measure. The Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013 will give judges greater flexibility in sentencing in cases where a mandatory minimum is unnecessary and counterproductive. Since its introduction, the Justice Safety Valve Act has received endorsements from a diverse group that spans the political spectrum, including articles written by George Will, Grover Norquist, David Keene, and the New York Times. I ask unanimous consent that these materials be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.

In addition to driving up our prison population, mandatory minimum penalties can lead to terribly unjust results in individual cases. This is why a large majority of judges oppose mandatory minimum sentences. In a 2010 survey by the U.S. Sentencing Commission of more than 600 Federal district court judges, nearly 70 percent agreed that the existing safety valve provision should be extended to all Federal offenses. That is what our bill does. Judges, who hand down sentences and can see close up when they are appropriate and just, overwhelmingly oppose mandatory minimum sentences.

States, including very conservative States like Texas, that have implemented sentencing reform have saved money and seen their crime rates drop. It is long past time that Congress follow their lead, and a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Federal mandatory minimum sentences is an important place to start.

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