IIB 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1693 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
AN ACT 
To eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eliminating a Quan-
tifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021’’ or 
the ‘‘EQUAL Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF INCREASED PENALTIES FOR CO-
CAINE OFFENSES WHERE THE COCAINE IN-
VOLVED IS COCAINE BASE. 
(a) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—The following 
provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
801 et seq.) are repealed: 
(1) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(A) (21 
U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A)). 
(2) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(B) (21 
U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B)). 
(b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND EXPORT 
ACT.—The following provisions of the Controlled Sub-
stances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 951 et seq.) 
are repealed: 
(1) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(1) (21 
U.S.C. 960(b)(1)). 
(2) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(2) (21 
U.S.C. 960(b)(2)). 
(c) APPLICABILITY TO PENDING AND PAST CASES.— 
(1) PENDING
CASES.—This section, and the 
amendments made by this section, shall apply to any 
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sentence imposed after the date of enactment of this 
Act, regardless of when the offense was committed. 
(2) PAST CASES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a defend-
ant who, on or before the date of enactment of 
this Act, was sentenced for a Federal offense 
described in subparagraph (B), the sentencing 
court may, on motion of the defendant, the Bu-
reau of Prisons, the attorney for the Govern-
ment, or on its own motion, impose a reduced 
sentence after considering the factors set forth 
in section 3553(a) of title 18, United States 
Code. 
(B) FEDERAL
OFFENSE
DESCRIBED.—A 
Federal offense described in this subparagraph 
is an offense that involves cocaine base that is 
an offense under one of the following: 
(i) Section 401 of the Controlled Sub-
stances Act (21 U.S.C. 841). 
(ii) Section 1010 of the Controlled 
Substances Import and Export Act (21 
U.S.C. 960). 
(iii) Section 404(a) of the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844(a)). 
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(iv) Any other Federal criminal of-
fense, the conduct or penalties for which 
were established by reference to a provision 
described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii). 
(C) DEFENDANT
NOT
REQUIRED
TO
BE 
PRESENT.—Notwithstanding Rule 43 of the 
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the de-
fendant is not required to be present at any 
hearing on whether to impose a reduced sen-
tence pursuant to this paragraph. 
(D) NO REDUCTION FOR PREVIOUSLY RE-
DUCED SENTENCES.—A court may not consider 
a motion made under this paragraph to reduce 
a sentence if the sentence was previously im-
posed or previously reduced in accordance with 
this Act. 
(E) NO REQUIREMENT TO REDUCE SEN-
TENCE.—Nothing in this paragraph may be 
construed to require a court to reduce a sen-
tence pursuant to this paragraph. 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
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Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 28, 
2021. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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