II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1685 

A bill to reduce the sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine 

violations, and to provide increased emphasis on aggravating factors 

relating to the seriousness of the offense and the culpability of the 

offender. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 25, 2007 

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. SPECTER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

A bill to reduce the sentencing disparity between powder 

and crack cocaine violations, and to provide increased 

emphasis on aggravating factors relating to the seriousness of the offense and the culpability of the offender. 

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 ‘‘Fairness in Drug Sen5 tencing Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. POWDER AND CRACK COCAINE SENTENCING DIS2 PARITY REDUCTION. 

3 (a) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—Section 

4 401(b)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 

5 841(b)(1)) is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘50 

7 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘250 grams’’; and 

8 (2) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking ‘‘5 

9 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘25 grams’’. 

10 (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND EXPORT

11 ACT.—Section 1010(b) of the Controlled Substances Im12 port and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘50 

14 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘250 grams’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ‘‘5 grams’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘25 grams’’. 

17 SEC. 3. CHANGE IN PENALTY FOR POSSESSION OF CRACK 

18 COCAINE. 

19 Section 404(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

20 U.S.C. 844(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding 

21 the preceding sentence,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the 

22 mixture or substance exceeds 1 gram.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. INCREASED EMPHASIS ON CERTAIN AGGRAVATING 

2 FACTORS RELATED TO SERIOUSNESS OF THE 

3 OFFENSE. 

4 Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 

5 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing 

6 Commission shall review and, if appropriate, amend the 

7 sentencing guidelines to ensure that the penalties for an 

8 offense involving trafficking of a controlled substance pro9 vide tiered enhancements for the involvement of a dan10 gerous weapon or violence, including, if appropriate— 

11 (1) an increase to the existing enhancement for 

12 possession of a dangerous weapon; 

13 (2) an enhancement for the use or 

14 brandishment of a dangerous weapon; 

15 (3) an enhancement for the use, or threatened 

16 use, of violence; and 

17 (4) any other enhancement the Commission 

18 considers necessary. 

19 SEC. 5. INCREASED EMPHASIS ON CERTAIN FACTORS RE20 LATED TO THE CULPABILITY OF THE OF21 FENDER. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to its authority under 

23 section 994 of title 28, United States Code, the United 

24 States Sentencing Commission shall review and, if appro25 priate, amend the sentencing guidelines to ensure that the 

26 penalties for an offense involving trafficking of a conVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:45 Jun 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1685.IS S1685

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1 trolled substance adequately take into account the culpa2 bility of the defendant and the role of the defendant in 

3 the offense. 

4 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out this section, 

5 the United States Sentencing Commission shall con6 sider— 

7 (1) whether enhancements should be added, ei8 ther to the existing enhancements for aggravating 

9 role or otherwise, that take into account aggravating 

10 factors associated with the offense, including— 

11 (A) whether the defendant committed the 

12 offense as part of a pattern of criminal conduct 

13 engaged in as a livelihood; 

14 (B) whether the defendant maintained an 

15 establishment for the manufacture or distribu16 tion of the controlled substance; 

17 (C) whether the defendant distributed a 

18 controlled substance to an individual under the 

19 age of 18 years or a pregnant individual; 

20 (D) whether the defendant involved an in21 dividual under the age of 18 years or a preg22 nant individual in the offense; 

23 (E) whether the defendant manufactured 

24 or distributed the controlled substance in a lo25 cation described in section 409(a) or section 


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1 419(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

2 U.S.C. 849(a) or 860(a)); 

3 (F) whether the defendant bribed, or at4 tempted to bribe, a Federal, State, or local law 

5 enforcement officer in connection with the of6 fense; 

7 (G) whether the defendant was involved in 

8 the importation into the United States of the 

9 controlled substance; 

10 (H) whether the defendant committed the 

11 offense after previously being convicted of a fel12 ony controlled substances offense; and 

13 (I) any other factor the Commission con14 siders necessary; and 

15 (2) whether adjustments should be added, ei16 ther to the existing guideline for mitigating role or 

17 otherwise, that take into account mitigating factors 

18 associated with the offense, including— 

19 (A) whether the defendant had minimum 

20 knowledge of the illegal enterprise; 

21 (B) whether the defendant received little or 

22 no compensation in connection with the offense; 

23 and 

24 (C) whether the defendant acted on im25 pulse, fear, or friendship when the defendant 


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1 was otherwise unlikely to commit such an of2 fense. 

3 SEC. 6. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY AND DEADLINE FOR COM4 MISSION ACTION. 

5 The United States Sentencing Commission shall pro6 mulgate the guidelines, policy statements, or amendments 

7 provided for in this Act as soon as practicable, and in any 

8 event not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, in accordance with the procedure set forth in 

10 section 21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 

11 994 note), as though the authority under that Act had 

12 not expired. 

Æ 


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