SCOTT APPLAUDS HOUSE PASSAGE OF EQUAL ACT

Statement

Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1693, the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act:

"For years, we have known that harsh drug sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine have created a racially disparate impact on Black communities. The bipartisan EQUAL Act is the next step on the long road toward eliminating this unfair sentencing disparity. In 2009, I led the effort in the House to eliminate this disparity in the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act. That effort eventual led to the 2010 passage of the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the crack cocaine disparity from 100:1 to 18:1. That was a hard-fought compromise, and the EQUAL Act will finally end the disparity. This is an important step toward fixing our criminal justice system and making it more fair. I want to thank my colleagues Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, Kelly Armstrong and Don Bacon for working with me on this bill and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to move quickly to send this bill to President Biden's desk."

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