Dear Advocates, Yesterday was a remarkable day for federal sentencing reform! The Senate Judiciary Committee approved theSentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123), which is the first step in the process of undoing costly and counterproductive sentencing laws. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act improves drug and some gun sentences, and makes many of the changes retroactive, including those for crack cocaine sentences. Early analysis by the U.S. Sentencing Commission indicates that nearly 13,000 federal prisoners could benefit from the retroactive portions of the bill! And, of course, sentences will be fairer and more realistic for people convicted of these crimes in the future. The bill also allows some prisoners to earn credits that they can “cash in” at the end of their sentences to be transferred to a half-way house (or maybe home confinement) to serve the remainder of their time. The next steps for the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act are (1) a full vote on the Senate floor, (2) a markup in the House Judiciary Committee, and (3) a full vote on the House floor. FAMM is working hard to make this bill even better when it is considered in the House of Representatives. This is our chance to get all we can out of the national, bipartisan momentum for sentencing reform that has swept this country! We don’t yet know when the remaining steps will be taken by legislators, but we have heard the full Senate could vote on the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act in early 2016. You can help move the bill along by contacting your Senators and asking them to co-sponsor the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. You can also thank your Senator if he/she voted in favor of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act at yesterday’s mark-up. These Judiciary Committee members voted in favor of the bill: Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Jeff Flake, Sen. Tom Tillis, Sen. Pat Leahy, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Al Franken, Sen. Chris Coons, Sen. Sidney Blumenthal Ask your legislator to co-sponsor the bill now! And for a more comprehensive look at what the bill does, visit FAMM’s website. Thank you for helping us fight for sentencing policies that make sense! Best, Molly Molly Gill FAMM Government Affairs Counsel