I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 920 
To focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2015 
Mr. LABRADOR (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. 
MASSIE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To focus limited Federal resources on the most serious 
offenders. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smarter Sentencing 
Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. APPLICABILITY OF STATUTORY MINIMUMS. 
Section 3553(f)(1) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by striking ‘‘defendant’’ and all that follows 
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in this section shall be construed to require a court to re-
duce any sentence pursuant to this section. 
SEC. 4. SENTENCING MODIFICATIONS FOR CERTAIN DRUG 
OFFENSES. 
(a) CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCES
ACT.—The Con-
trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in section 102 (21 U.S.C. 802), by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(57) The term ‘courier’ means a defendant 
whose role in the offense was limited to transporting 
or storing drugs or money.’’; and 
(2) 
in 
section 
401(b)(1) 
(21 
U.S.C. 
841(b)(1))— 
(A) in the flush text following clause 
(viii)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘10 years or more’’ 
and inserting ‘‘5 years or more’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘such person shall be 
sentenced to a term of imprisonment which 
may not be less than 20 years and’’ and 
inserting ‘‘such person shall be sentenced 
to a term of imprisonment of not less than 
10 years and’’; and 
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(iii) by striking ‘‘mandatory term of 
life imprisonment without release’’ and in-
serting ‘‘term of imprisonment of not less 
than 20 years’’; and 
(B) in the flush text following clause 
(viii)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting 
‘‘2 years’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘not be less than 10 
years’’ and inserting ‘‘not be less than 5 
years’’. 
(b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND EXPORT 
ACT.—Section 1010(b) of the Controlled Substances Im-
port and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), in the flush text following 
subparagraph (H)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘, other than a person 
who is a courier,’’ after ‘‘such violation’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘person commits’’ and in-
serting ‘‘person, other than a courier, com-
mits’’; and 
(C) by inserting ‘‘If a person who is a cou-
rier commits such a violation, the person shall 
be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not 
less than 5 years and not more than life. If a 
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person who is a courier commits such a viola-
tion after a prior conviction for a felony drug 
offense has become final, the person shall be 
sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less 
than 10 years and not more than life.’’ before 
‘‘Notwithstanding section 3583’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), in the flush text following 
subparagraph (H)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘, other than a person 
who is a courier,’’ after ‘‘such violation’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘person commits’’ and in-
serting ‘‘person, other than a courier, com-
mits’’; and 
(C) by inserting ‘‘If a person who is a cou-
rier commits such a violation, the person shall 
be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not 
less than 2 years and not more than life. If a 
person who is a courier commits such a viola-
tion after a prior conviction for a felony drug 
offense has become final, the person shall be 
sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less 
than 5 years and not more than life.’’ before 
‘‘Notwithstanding section 3583’’. 
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SEC. 5. DIRECTIVE TO THE SENTENCING COMMISSION. 
(a) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur-
suant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 
United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 
the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 
amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and its policy state-
ments applicable to persons convicted of an offense under 
section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
841) or section 1010 of the Controlled Substances Import 
and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960) to ensure that the guide-
lines and policy statements are consistent with the amend-
ments made by sections 2 and 4 of this Act and reflect 
the intent of Congress that such penalties be decreased 
in accordance with the amendments made by section 4 of 
this Act. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out this section, 
the United States Sentencing Commission shall con-
sider— 
(1) the mandate of the United States Sen-
tencing Commission, under section 994(g) of title 
28, United States Code, to formulate the sentencing 
guidelines in such a way as to ‘‘minimize the likeli-
hood that the Federal prison population will exceed 
the capacity of the Federal prisons’’; 
(2) the findings and conclusions of the United 
States Sentencing Commission in its October 2011 
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report to Congress entitled, Mandatory Minimum 
Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System; 
(3) the fiscal implications of any amendments 
or revisions to the sentencing guidelines or policy 
statements made by the United States Sentencing 
Commission; 
(4) the relevant public safety concerns involved 
in the considerations before the United States Sen-
tencing Commission; 
(5) the intent of Congress that penalties for 
violent, repeat, and serious drug traffickers who 
present public safety risks remain appropriately se-
vere; and 
(6) the need to reduce and prevent racial dis-
parities in Federal sentencing. 
(c) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—The United States 
Sentencing Commission shall— 
(1) promulgate the guidelines, policy state-
ments, or amendments provided for in this Act as 
soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 
120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, in 
accordance with the procedure set forth in section 
21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 
note), as though the authority under that Act had 
not expired; and 
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(2) pursuant to the emergency authority pro-
vided under paragraph (1), make such conforming 
amendments to the Federal sentencing guidelines as 
the Commission determines necessary to achieve 
consistency with other guideline provisions and ap-
plicable law. 
SEC. 6. REPORT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the Com-
mittees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate a report outlining how the reduced expend-
itures on Federal corrections and the cost savings result-
ing from this Act will be used to help reduce overcrowding 
in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, help increase proper in-
vestment in law enforcement and crime prevention, and 
help reduce criminal recidivism, thereby increasing the ef-
fectiveness of Federal criminal justice spending. 
SEC. 7. REPORT ON FEDERAL CRIMINAL OFFENSES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘criminal regulatory offense’’ 
means a Federal regulation that is enforceable by a 
criminal penalty; and 
(2) the term ‘‘criminal statutory offense’’ 
means a criminal offense under a Federal statute. 
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(b) REPORT ON CRIMINAL STATUTORY OFFENSES.— 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report, which 
shall include— 
(1) a list of all criminal statutory offenses, in-
cluding a list of the elements for each criminal stat-
utory offense; and 
(2) for each criminal statutory offense listed 
under paragraph (1)— 
(A) the potential criminal penalty for the 
criminal statutory offense; 
(B) the number of prosecutions for the 
criminal statutory offense brought by the De-
partment of Justice each year for the 15-year 
period preceding the date of enactment of this 
Act; and 
(C) the mens rea requirement for the 
criminal statutory offense. 
(c) REPORT
ON
CRIMINAL
REGULATORY
OF-
FENSES.— 
(1) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the head of each Fed-
eral agency described in paragraph (2) shall submit 
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to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives a report, which shall include— 
(A) a list of all criminal regulatory of-
fenses enforceable by the agency; and 
(B) for each criminal regulatory offense 
listed under subparagraph (A)— 
(i) the potential criminal penalty for a 
violation of the criminal regulatory offense; 
(ii) the number of violations of the 
criminal regulatory offense referred to the 
Department of Justice for prosecution in 
each of the years during the 15-year period 
preceding the date of enactment of this 
Act; and 
(iii) the mens rea requirement for the 
criminal regulatory offense. 
(2) AGENCIES DESCRIBED.—The Federal agen-
cies described in this paragraph are the Department 
of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the 
Department of Education, the Department of En-
ergy, the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices, the Department of Homeland Security, the De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development, the 
Department of the Interior, the Department of 
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Labor, the Department of Transportation, the De-
partment of the Treasury, the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, the Export-Import Bank of the United 
States, the Farm Credit Administration, the Federal 
Communications Commission, the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Com-
mission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the 
Federal Maritime Commission, the Federal Mine 
Safety and Health Review Commission, the Federal 
Trade Commission, the National Labor Relations 
Board, the National Transportation Safety Board, 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Review Commission, the 
Office of Compliance, the Postal Regulatory Com-
mission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, 
the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the Small Busi-
ness Administration, the Federal Housing Finance 
Agency, and the Office of Government Ethics. 
(d) INDEX.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act— 
(1) the Attorney General shall establish a pub-
lically accessible index of each criminal statutory of-
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fense listed in the report required under subsection 
(b) and make the index available and freely acces-
sible on the website of the Department of Justice; 
and 
(2) the head of each agency described in sub-
section (c)(2) shall establish a publically accessible 
index of each criminal regulatory offense listed in 
the report required under subsection (c)(1) and 
make the index available and freely accessible on the 
website of the agency. 
(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to require or authorize appropria-
tions. 
Æ 
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