HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

1549

1995 T130.26

T130.23 PROVIDING FOR THE

CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2259

Ms. PRYCE, by direction of the Committee on Rules, called up the following resolution (H. Res. 237):

Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule XXIII, declare the

House resolved into the Committee of the

Whole House on the state of the Union for

consideration of the bill (H.R. 2259) to disapprove certain sentencing guideline amendments. The first reading of the bill shall be

dispensed with. Points of order against consideration of the bill for failure to comply

with clause 2(1)(2)(B) of rule XI are waived.

General debate shall be confined to the bill

and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and

ranking minority member of the Committee

on the Judiciary. After general debate the

bill shall be considered for amendment under

the five-minute rule. An amendment in the

nature of a substitute consisting of the text

of S. 1254, as passed by the Senate, shall be

considered as adopted in the House and in

the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as

amended, shall be considered as the original

bill for the purpose of further amendment

under the five-minute rule. The bill, as

amended, shall be considered as read. No further amendment shall be in order except the

amendment in the nature of a substitute

printed in the report of the Committee on

Rules accompanying this resolution, which

may be offered only by Representative Conyers of Michigan or his designee, shall be

considered as read, shall be debatable for one

hour equally divided and controlled by the

proponent and an opponent, and shall not be

subject to amendment. At the conclusion of

consideration of the bill for amendment the

Committee shall rise and report the bill, as

amended, to the House with such further

amendment as may have been adopted. The

previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and any

amendment thereto to final passage without

intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

SEC. 2. After passage of H.R. 2259, it shall

be in order to take from the Speaker’s table

the bill S. 1254 and to consider the Senate

bill in the House. All points of order against

the Senate bill and against it consideration

are waived. It shall be in order to move to

strike all after the enacting clause of the

Senate bill and to insert in lieu thereof the

provisions of H.R. 2259 as passed by the

House. All points of order against that motion are waived. If the motion is adopted and

the Senate bill, as amended, is passed, then

it shall be in order to move that the House

insist on its amendment to S. 1254 and request a conference with the Senate thereon.

When said resolution was considered.

After debate,

On motion of Ms. PRYCE, the previous question was ordered on the resolution to its adoption or rejection and

under the operation thereof, the resolution was agreed to.

A motion to reconsider the vote

whereby said resolution was agreed to

was, by unanimous consent, laid on the

table.

T130.24 SENTENCING GUIDELINE

AMENDMENTS

The SPEAKER pro tempore, Mr.

LAHOOD, pursuant to House Resolution 237 and rule XXIII, declared the

House resolved into the Committee of

the Whole House on the state of the

Union for the consideration of the bill

(H.R. 2259) to disapprove certain sentencing guideline amentments.

The SPEAKER pro tempore, Mr.

LAHOOD, designated Mr. BEREUTER

as Chairman of the Committee of the

Whole; and after some time spent

therein,

T130.25 RECORDED VOTE

A recorded vote by electronic device

was ordered in the Committee of the

Whole on the following amendment in

the nature of a substitute submitted by

Mr. CONYERS:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. DISAPPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS RELATING TO LOWERING OF CRACK

SENTENCES AND SENTENCES FOR

MONEY LAUNDERING AND TRANSACTIONS IN PROPERTY DERIVED

FROM UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY.

In accordance with section 994(p) of title

28, United States Code, amendments numbered 5 and 18 (except to the extent they

amend section 2D2.1) of the ‘‘Amendments to

the Sentencing Guidelines, Policy Statements, and Official Commentary’’, submitted

by the United States Sentencing Commission

to Congress on May 1, 1995, are hereby disapproved and shall not take effect.

SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF SENTENCING DISPARITY.

(a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Sentencing Commission shall submit to Congress recommendations (and an explanation

therefor), regarding changes to the statutes

and sentencing guidelines governing sentences for unlawful manufacturing, importing, exporting, and trafficking of cocaine,

and like offenses, including unlawful possession, possession with intent to commit any

of the forgoing offenses, and attempt and

conspiracy to commit any of the forgoing offenses. The recommendations shall reflect

the following considerations—

(A) the sentence imposed for trafficking in

a quantity of crack cocaine should generally

exceed the sentence imposed for trafficking

in a like quantity of powder cocaine;

(B) high-level wholesale cocaine traffickers, organizers, and leaders, of criminal

activities should generally receive longer

sentences than low-level retail cocaine traffickers and those who played a minor or

minimal role in such criminal activity;

(C) if the Government establishes that a defendant who traffics in powder cocaine has

knowledge that such cocaine will be converted into crack cocaine prior to its distribution to individual users, the defendant

should be treated at sentencing as though

the defendant had trafficked in crack cocaine; and

(d) an enhanced sentence should generally

be imposed on a defendant who, in the course

of an offense described in this subsection—

(i) murders or causes serious bodily injury

to an individual;

(ii) uses a dangerous weapon;

(iii) uses or possesses a firearm;

(iv) involves a juvenile or a woman who the

defendant knows or should know to be pregnant;

(v) engages in a continuing criminal enterprise or commits other criminal offenses in

order to facilitate his drug trafficking activities;

(vi) knows, or should know, that he is involving an unusually vulnerable person;

(vii) restrains a victim;

(viii) traffics in cocaine within 500 feet of a

school;

(ix) obstructs justice;

(x) has a significant prior criminal record;

or

(xi) is an organizer or leader of drug trafficking activities involving five or more persons.

(2) RATIO.—The recommendations described in the preceding subsection shall propose revision of the drug quantity ratio of

crack cocaine to powder cocaine under the

relevant statutes and guidelines in a manner

consistent with the ratios set for other drugs

and consistent with the objectives set forth

in section 3553(a) of title 28, United States

Code.

(b) STUDY.—No later than May 1, 1996, the

Department of Justice shall submit to the

Judiciary Committees of the Senate and

House of Representatives a report on the

charging and plea practices of Federal prosecutors with respect to the offense of money

laundering. Such study shall include an account of the steps taken or to be taken by

the Justice Department to ensure consistency and appropriateness in the use of the

money laundering statute. The Sentencing

Commission shall submit to the Judiciary

Committees comments on the study prepared

by the Department of Justice.

It was decided in the Yeas ....... 98 ! negative ....................... Nays ...... 316

T130.26 [Roll No. 723]

AYES—98

Abercrombie

Andrews

Baker (CA)

Becerra

Beilenson

Berman

Bevill

Bishop

Bonior

Browder

Brown (FL)

Clay

Clayton

Clyburn

Collins (IL)

Collins (MI)

Condit

Conyers

Coyne

DeFazio

Dellums

Dingell

Dixon

Engel

Ensign

Evans

Farr

Fattah

Filner

Flake

Foglietta

Ford

Frank (MA)

Gejdenson

Gibbons

Hall (OH)

Hastings (FL)

Hilliard

Hinchey

Horn

Jackson-Lee

Jefferson

Johnson, E. B.

Kennedy (MA)

LaFalce

Lantos

Lewis (GA)

Lofgren

Martinez

Matsui

McCarthy

McDade

McDermott

McKinney

Meek

Mfume

Miller (CA)

Mink

Moakley

Moran

Morella

Murtha

Nadler

Olver

Orton

Owens

Parker

Pastor

Payne (NJ)

Pelosi

Peterson (FL)

Roybal-Allard

Rush

Sabo

Sanders

Sawyer

Schroeder

Scott

Serrano

Sisisky

Skaggs

Slaughter

Stokes

Thompson

Thurman

Torres

Towns

Traficant

Velazquez

Vento

Waters

Watt (NC)

Watts (OK)

Waxman

Williams

Woolsey

Wynn

Yates

NOES—316

Ackerman

Allard

Archer

Armey

Bachus

Baesler

Baker (LA)

Baldacci

Ballenger

Barcia

Barr

Barrett (NE)

Barrett (WI)

Bartlett

Barton

Bass

Bentsen

Bereuter

Bilbray

Bilirakis

Bliley

Blute

Boehlert

Boehner

Bonilla

Bono

Borski

Brewster

Brown (OH)

Brownback

Bryant (TN)

Bryant (TX)

Bunn

Bunning

Burr

Burton

Buyer

Callahan

Calvert

Camp

Canady

Cardin

Castle

Chabot

Chambliss

Chenoweth

Christensen

Chrysler

Clement

Clinger

Coble

Coburn

Coleman

Collins (GA)

Combest

Cooley

Costello

Cox

Cramer

Crane

Crapo

Cremeans

Cubin

Cunningham

Danner

Davis

de la Garza

Deal

DeLauro

DeLay

Deutsch

Diaz-Balart

Dickey

Dicks

Doggett

Dooley

Doolittle

Dornan

Doyle

Dreier

Duncan

Dunn

Durbin

Edwards

Ehlers

Ehrlich

Emerson