Senator Grassley talking up Senate vote on his SRCA bill along with any prison reform bill lacking sentencing reforms
As reported in this post, the White House yesterday signaled its disaffinity for key parts of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act when an official was quoted as saying the "sentencing reform part still does not have a pathway forward to getting done." But Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley is seemingly not prepared to give up on his bill, as detailed in this new press article headlined "Grassley: I'll fight for sentencing reforms." Here are the key details:
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pledged Wednesday to fight for a criminal justice proposal that includes reducing certain mandatory prison sentences, and he raised the prospect of blocking a package of related reforms the White House and congressional Republicans are said to be interested in if he can't get an agreement....
Late Tuesday, the White House expressed interest in proposals to reduce recidivism among offenders, but not changes to sentences. A White House official who wasn't identified said the sentencing reform piece "does not have a pathway forward to getting done," according to several news reports. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, also is said to be an obstacle to getting the legislation to the floor.
On a conference call with Iowa reporters Wednesday, Grassley disputed the idea his bill can't pass and said with Democrats and Republicans, there are at least 60 votes for his proposal. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee two weeks ago on a 16-5 bi-partisan vote.
Grassley said people pushing for a narrower approach just want to get a bill passed. "Well, if they take up prison reform, they’re going to have to have 60 votes to get prison reform up. And I’ll bet we’ve got, if all the Democrats go along with me, we can stop that from coming up until we get a deal to get a vote on my sentencing reform," Grassley said.
Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and has been a key figure in getting the Trump administration's court picks through the confirmation process, said he planned to talk to Durbin first before deciding whether to take that route....
On the conference call Wednesday, Grassley said the chances for his proposal, at the moment, aren't very good. But he said he isn't going to give up. "This would be a bipartisan policy win for the administration. And it seems like a no-brainer to me." He said he hasn't spoken to President Trump about the proposal yet.
A few prior related posts:
- Is it time for new optimism or persistent pessimism on the latest prospects for statutory federal sentencing reform?
- Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 now has 20 sponsors in the Senate but...
- Mapping the politics and making the case against the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017
- AG Sessions writes to Senator Grassley to say passages of SRCA "would be a grave error"
- Interesting statements from Senate Judiciary Committee on Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 ... and now passage by 16-5 vote!
- Trump White House expresses opposition to sentencing reform part of SRCA of 2017
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