I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3713 

To reform sentencing laws, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2015 

Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. BISHOP of Michigan, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 

CHABOT, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COLLINS of 

Georgia, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California, Ms. 

DELBENE, Mr. TROTT, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, and Mr. 

PIERLUISI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To reform sentencing laws, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sentencing Reform Act 

5 of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REDUCE AND RESTRICT ENHANCED SENTENCING 

2 FOR PRIOR DRUG FELONIES. 

3 (a) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT AMEND4 MENTS.—The Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 

5 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 102 (21 U.S.C. 802), by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(57) The term ‘serious drug felony’ means an 

9 offense described in section 924(e)(2)(A) of title 18, 

10 United States Code, for which the offender served a 

11 term of imprisonment of more than 12 months. 

12 ‘‘(58) The term ‘serious violent felony’ means 

13 an offense— 

14 ‘‘(A) described in section 3559(c)(2)(F) of 

15 title 18, United States Code, for which the of16 fender served a term of imprisonment of more 

17 than 12 months; or 

18 ‘‘(B) that would be a felony violation of 

19 section 113 of title 18, United States Code, if 

20 the offense were committed in the special mari21 time and territorial jurisdiction of the United 

22 States, for which the offender served a term of 

23 imprisonment of more than 12 months.’’; 

24 (2) in section 401(b)(1) (21 U.S.C. 

25 841(b)(1))— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the flush text 

2 following clause (viii)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘If any person commits 

4 such a violation after a prior conviction for 

5 a felony drug offense has become final, 

6 such person shall be sentenced to a term of 

7 imprisonment which may not be less than 

8 20 years’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘If 

9 any person commits such a violation after 

10 a prior conviction for a serious drug felony 

11 or serious violent felony has become final, 

12 such person shall be sentenced to a term of 

13 imprisonment of not less than 15 years’’; 

14 and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘after two or more 

16 prior convictions for a felony drug offense 

17 have become final, such person shall be 

18 sentenced to a mandatory term of life im19 prisonment without release’’ and inserting 

20 the following: ‘‘after 2 or more prior con21 victions for a serious drug felony or serious 

22 violent felony have become final, such per23 son shall be sentenced to a term of impris24 onment of not less than 25 years’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), in the flush text 

2 following clause (viii), by striking ‘‘If any per3 son commits such a violation after a prior con4 viction for a felony drug offense has become 

5 final’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘If any per6 son commits such a violation after a prior con7 viction for a serious drug felony or serious vio8 lent felony has become final’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end of section 401(b) (21 

10 U.S.C. 841(b)) the following: 

11 ‘‘(8) In the case of a violation of subsection (a), 

12 if the mixture or substance containing a detectable 

13 amount of heroin also contains a detectable amount 

14 of N-phenyl-N-[ 1-(2-phenylethyl) -4-piperidinyl] 

15 propanamide or any analogue of N-phenyl-N-[ 1-(2- 

16 phenylethyl) -4-piperidinyl] propanamide, then a 

17 court shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) not impose a term of probation; 

19 ‘‘(B) in addition to the term of punishment 

20 for the violation of this section, impose a term 

21 of imprisonment not to exceed 5 years; and 

22 ‘‘(C) no term of imprisonment imposed on 

23 a person under subparagraph (B) shall run con24 currently with any term of imprisonment imVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Oct 14, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3713.IH H3713

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1 posed on the person under any other provision 

2 of law. 

3 ‘‘(9) In the case of a violation of subsection (a), 

4 if the mixture or substance containing a detectable 

5 amount of N-phenyl-N-[ 1-(2-phenylethyl) -4- 

6 piperidinyl] propanamide or any analogue of N7 phenyl-N-[ 1-(2-phenylethyl) -4-piperidinyl] 

8 propanamide was represented to be or sold as her9 oin, then a court shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) not impose a term of probation; 

11 ‘‘(B) in addition to the term of punishment 

12 for the violation of this section, impose a term 

13 of imprisonment not to exceed 5 years; and 

14 ‘‘(C) no term of imprisonment imposed on 

15 a person under subparagraph (B) shall run con16 currently with any term of imprisonment im17 posed on the person under any other provision 

18 of law.’’. 

19 (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND EXPORT

20 ACT AMENDMENTS.—Section 1010(b) of the Controlled 

21 Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960(b)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), in the flush text following 

24 subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘If any person com25 mits such a violation after a prior conviction for a 


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1 felony drug offense has become final, such person 

2 shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not 

3 less than 20 years’’ and inserting ‘‘If any person 

4 commits such a violation after a prior conviction for 

5 a serious drug felony or serious violent felony has 

6 become final, such person shall be sentenced to a 

7 term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), in the flush text following 

9 subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘felony drug offense’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘serious drug felony or serious violent 

11 felony’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(8) In the case of a violation of subsection (a), 

14 if the mixture or substance containing a detectable 

15 amount of heroin also contains a detectable amount 

16 of N-phenyl-N-[ 1-(2-phenylethyl) -4-piperidinyl] 

17 propanamide or any analogue of N-phenyl-N-[ 1-(2- 

18 phenylethyl) -4-piperidinyl] propanamide, then a 

19 court shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) not impose a term of probation; 

21 ‘‘(B) in addition to the term of punishment 

22 for the violation of this section, impose a term 

23 of imprisonment not to exceed 5 years; and 

24 ‘‘(C) no term of imprisonment imposed on 

25 a person under subparagraph (B) shall run conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 14, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3713.IH H3713

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1 currently with any term of imprisonment im2 posed on the person under any other provision 

3 of law. 

4 ‘‘(9) In the case of a violation of subsection (a), 

5 if the mixture or substance containing a detectable 

6 amount of N-phenyl-N-[ 1-(2-phenylethyl) -4- 

7 piperidinyl] propanamide or any analogue of N8 phenyl-N-[ 1-(2-phenylethyl) -4-piperidinyl] 

9 propanamide was represented to be or sold as her10 oin, then a court shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) not impose a term of probation; 

12 ‘‘(B) in addition to the term of punishment 

13 for the violation of this section, impose a term 

14 of imprisonment not to exceed 5 years; and 

15 ‘‘(C) no term of imprisonment imposed on 

16 a person under subparagraph (B) shall run con17 currently with any term of imprisonment im18 posed on the person under any other provision 

19 of law.’’. 

20 (c) APPLICABILITY TO PENDING AND PAST CASES.— 

21 (1) PENDING CASES.—This section, and the 

22 amendments made by this section, shall apply to any 

23 offense that was committed before the date of enact24 ment of this Act, if a sentence for the offense has 

25 not been imposed as of such date of enactment. 


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1 (2) PAST CASES.— 

2 (A) GENERAL RULE.—In the case of a de3 fendant (other than a defendant with a prior 

4 conviction for a qualifying serious violent fel5 ony) who, before the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, was convicted of an offense for which the 

7 penalty is amended by this section and who was 

8 sentenced to a term of imprisonment for the of9 fense, the sentencing court may, on motion of 

10 the defendant or the Director of the Bureau of 

11 Prisons, or on its own motion, upon prior notice 

12 to the Government, reduce the term of impris13 onment for the offense, after considering the 

14 factors set forth in section 3553(a) of title 18, 

15 United States Code, the nature and seriousness 

16 of the danger to any person or the community, 

17 and the post-sentencing conduct of the defend18 ant, if such a reduction is consistent with this 

19 section and the amendments made by this sec20 tion. 

21 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph the 

22 term ‘‘qualifying serious violent felony’’ means 

23 an offense that— 


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1 (i) is a serious violent felony as that 

2 term is defined in section 102(58) of the 

3 Controlled Substances Act; and 

4 (ii) the conviction carries 3 or more 

5 criminal history points as determined 

6 under the United States Sentencing Guide7 lines. 

8 SEC. 3. BROADENING OF EXISTING SAFETY VALVE. 

9 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3553 of title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (f), by striking paragraph (1) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) the defendant does not have— 

14 ‘‘(A) more than 4 criminal history points 

15 as determined under the sentencing guidelines; 

16 ‘‘(B) a prior 3-point offense, as determined 

17 under the sentencing guidelines; and 

18 ‘‘(C) a prior 2-point drug trafficking or 

19 violent offense, as determined under the sen20 tencing guidelines;’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(g) INADEQUACY OF CRIMINAL HISTORY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If subsection (f) does not 

24 apply to a defendant because the defendant does not 

25 meet the requirements described in subsection (f)(1) 


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1 (relating to criminal history), the court may, upon 

2 prior notice to the Government, waive subsection 

3 (f)(1) if the court specifies in writing the specific 

4 reasons why reliable information indicates that ex5 cluding the defendant pursuant to subsection (f)(1) 

6 substantially overrepresents the seriousness of the 

7 defendant’s criminal history or the likelihood that 

8 the defendant will commit other crimes. 

9 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—This subsection shall not 

10 apply to any defendant who has been convicted of a 

11 serious drug felony or a serious violent felony as de12 fined in paragraphs (57) and (58), respectively, of 

13 section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

14 U.S.C. 802). 

15 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘drug trafficking offense’ means 

17 an offense that is punishable by imprisonment under 

18 any law of the United States, or of a State or for19 eign country, that prohibits or restricts the importa20 tion, manufacture, or distribution of controlled sub21 stances or the possession of controlled substances 

22 with intent to distribute; and 

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘violent offense’ means a ‘crime 

24 of violence’, as defined in section 16, that is punish25 able by imprisonment.’’. 


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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

2 section shall apply only to a conviction entered on or after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON APPLICATION OF THE 10-YEAR 

5 MANDATORY MINIMUM. 

6 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 3553 of title 18, United 

7 States Code, as amended by section 3, is amended by add8 ing at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN

10 STATUTORY MINIMUMS.—Notwithstanding any other pro11 vision of law, in the case of a conviction under section 401 

12 or 406 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841 

13 and 846) or section 1010 or 1013 of the Controlled Sub14 stances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960 and 963) 

15 for which the statutory minimum term of imprisonment 

16 is 10 years, the court may impose a sentence as if the 

17 statutory minimum term of imprisonment was 5 years, if 

18 the court finds at sentencing, after the Government has 

19 been afforded the opportunity to make a recommendation, 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(1) the defendant does not have a prior convic22 tion for a serious drug felony or serious violent fel23 ony as defined in paragraphs (57) and (58), respec24 tively, of section 102 of the Controlled Substances 


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1 Act (21 U.S.C. 802) that was made final prior to 

2 the commission of the instant offense; 

3 ‘‘(2) the defendant did not use violence or cred4 ible threats of violence or possess a firearm or other 

5 dangerous weapon (or induce another participant to 

6 do so) in connection with the offense, and the of7 fense did not result in death or serious bodily injury 

8 to any person; 

9 ‘‘(3) the defendant did not play an enhanced 

10 role in the offense by acting as an organizer, leader, 

11 manager, or supervisor of other participants in the 

12 offense, as determined under the sentencing guide13 lines, or by exercising substantial authority or con14 trol over the criminal activity of a criminal organiza15 tion, regardless of whether the defendant was a 

16 member of such organization; 

17 ‘‘(4) the defendant did not act as an importer, 

18 exporter, high-level distributor or supplier, whole19 saler, or manufacturer of the controlled substances 

20 involved in the offense or engage in a continuing 

21 criminal enterprise, as defined in section 408 of the 

22 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 848); 

23 ‘‘(5) the defendant did not distribute a con24 trolled substance to or with a person under 18 years 

25 of age; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) not later than the time of the sentencing 

2 hearing, the defendant has truthfully provided to the 

3 Government all information and evidence the defend4 ant has concerning the offense or offenses that were 

5 part of the same course of conduct or of a common 

6 scheme or plan, but the fact that the defendant has 

7 no relevant or useful other information to provide or 

8 that the Government is already aware of the infor9 mation shall not preclude a determination by the 

10 court that the defendant has complied with this re11 quirement. 

12 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—As used in subsection (i) of this 

13 section— 

14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘importer, exporter, or high-level 

15 distributor or supplier’— 

16 ‘‘(A) means a defendant who imported, ex17 ported, or otherwise distributed or supplied 

18 large quantities of a controlled substance to 

19 other drug distributors; and 

20 ‘‘(B) does not include a defendant whose 

21 role was limited to transporting drugs or money 

22 at the direction of others; 

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘manufacturer’ means a defend24 ant who grew, produced, or manufactured a conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Oct 14, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3713.IH H3713

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1 trolled substance and was the principal owner of 

2 such controlled substance; and 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘wholesaler’ means a defendant 

4 who sold non-retail quantities of a controlled sub5 stance to other dealers or distributors.’’. 

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by this 

7 section shall apply only to a conviction entered on or after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF SECTION 924(c) OF TITLE 18, 

10 UNITED STATES CODE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 924(c)(1)(C) of title 18, 

12 United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik14 ing ‘‘second or subsequent conviction under this sub15 section’’ and inserting ‘‘violation of this subsection 

16 that occurs after a prior conviction under this sub17 section or under State law for a crime of violence 

18 that contains as an element of the offense the car19 rying, brandishing, or use of a firearm has become 

20 final’’; and 

21 (2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘not less than 25 

22 years’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 15 years’’. 

23 (b) APPLICABILITY TO PENDING AND PAST CASES.— 

24 (1) PENDING CASES.—This section, and the 

25 amendments made by this section, shall apply to any 


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1 offense that was committed before the date of enact2 ment of this Act, if a sentence for the offense has 

3 not been imposed as of such date of enactment. 

4 (2) CERTAIN PAST CASES.— 

5 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided 

6 in subparagraph (B), in the case of a defendant 

7 who, before the date of enactment of this Act, 

8 was convicted of an offense for which the pen9 alty is amended by this section and was sen10 tenced to a term of imprisonment for the of11 fense, the sentencing court may, on motion of 

12 the defendant or the Director of the Bureau of 

13 Prisons, or on its own motion, upon prior notice 

14 to the Government, reduce the term of impris15 onment for the offense, after considering the 

16 factors set forth in section 3553(a) of title 18, 

17 United States Code, the nature and seriousness 

18 of the danger to any person or the community, 

19 and the post-sentencing conduct of the defend20 ant, if such a reduction is consistent with this 

21 section and the amendments made by this sec22 tion. 

23 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) does 

24 not apply in the case of an offense affected by 

25 the amendment made in subsection (a)(2) with 


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1 regard to a defendant who has a prior convic2 tion for a serious violent felony, as defined in 

3 section 102(58) of the Controlled Substances 

4 Act. 

5 SEC. 6. AMENDMENT TO CERTAIN PENALTIES FOR CER6 TAIN FIREARM OFFENSES AND ARMED CA7 REER CRIMINAL PROVISION. 

8 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 924 of title 18, United 

9 States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘not more 

11 than 10 years’’ and inserting ‘‘not more than 15 

12 years’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘not less 

14 than 15 years’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 10 

15 years’’. 

16 (b) APPLICABILITY TO PENDING AND PAST CASES.— 

17 (1) PENDING CASES.—This section, and the 

18 amendments made by this section, shall apply to any 

19 offense that was committed before the date of enact20 ment of this Act, if a sentence for the offense has 

21 not been imposed as of such date of enactment. 

22 (2) PAST CASES.—In the case of a defendant 

23 (other than a defendant with a prior conviction for 

24 a serious violent felony, as defined in section 

25 102(58) of the Controlled Substances Act) who, beVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Oct 14, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3713.IH H3713

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1 fore the date of enactment of this Act, was convicted 

2 of an offense for which the penalty is amended by 

3 this section and was sentenced to a term of impris4 onment for the offense, the sentencing court may, on 

5 motion of the defendant or the Director of the Bu6 reau of Prisons, or on its own motion, upon prior 

7 notice to the Government, reduce the term of impris8 onment for the offense, after considering the factors 

9 set forth in section 3553(a) of title 18, United 

10 States Code, the nature and seriousness of the dan11 ger to any person or the community, and the post12 sentencing conduct of the defendant, if such a reduc13 tion is consistent with this section and the amend14 ments made by this section. 

15 SEC. 7. APPLICATION OF FAIR SENTENCING ACT. 

16 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED OFFENSE.—In this 

17 section, the term ‘‘covered offense’’ means a violation of 

18 a Federal criminal statute, the statutory penalties for 

19 which were modified by section 2 or 3 of the Fair Sen20 tencing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–220; 124 Stat. 

21 2372), that was committed before August 3, 2010. 

22 (b) DEFENDANTS PREVIOUSLY SENTENCED.—A 

23 court that imposed a sentence for a covered offense, may, 

24 on motion of the defendant, the Director of the Bureau 

25 of Prisons, the attorney for the Government, or the court, 


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1 impose a reduced sentence as if sections 2 and 3 of the 

2 Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–220; 124 

3 Stat. 2372) were in effect at the time the covered offense 

4 was committed. 

5 (c) LIMITATIONS.—No court shall entertain a motion 

6 made under this section to reduce a sentence if the sen7 tence was imposed or reduced to a sentence greater than 

8 the applicable mandatory minimum in accordance with the 

9 amendments made by sections 2 and 3 of the Fair Sen10 tencing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–220; 124 Stat. 

11 2372), or if a motion made pursuant to section 2 or 3 

12 of the Fair Sentencing Act or under this section was de13 nied by a court because a reduction in the defendant’s 

14 term of imprisonment would pose a danger to any person 

15 or the community or was denied by a court because of 

16 the defendant’s post-sentencing conduct. Nothing in this 

17 section shall require a court to reduce any sentence pursu18 ant to this section. 

Æ 


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