2010 Ron Paul 49:1
Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant
support for S. 1789, the Fair Sentencing Act.
My support is reluctant because S. 1789 is an
uncomfortable mix of some provisions that reduce
the harms of the federal war on drugs
and other provisions that increase the harms
of that disastrous and unconstitutional war. I
am supporting this legislation because I am
optimistic the legislationís overall effect will be
positive.
2010 Ron Paul 49:2
Congress should be looking critically at how
we can extricate America from the four decades
of destruction that has ensued since
President Richard Nixon announced the federal
war on drugs in 1972. As a medical doctor
with over 30 yearsí experience, I certainly
recognize the dangers that can arise from
drug abuse. However, experience shows that
the federal drug war creates many additional
dangers, while failing to reduce the problems
associated with drug abuse. Like 14 years of
federal alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and
í30s, Americaís federal drug war has failed to
ameliorate the problems associated with drug
use, while fostering violence and disrespect
for individual rights.
2010 Ron Paul 49:3
While imperfect, I am optimistic that the
Senate bill being considered today will reduce
the harms of the federal drug war. I also hope
consideration of this legislation will enliven interest
in ending the federal war on drugs.
2010 Ron Paul 49:4
It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives
is today considering this compromise
legislation from the Senate instead of
Representative BOBBY SCOTTís H.R. 3245, the
Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act. I am an
original cosponsor of Representative SCOTTís
bill, which passed the House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary on July 29,
2009—one year ago tomorrow. Representative
SCOTTís legislation is a short and simple bill
that repeals a handful of clauses, sentences,
and subparagraphs of federal drug laws to
eliminate the 100 to one drug weight basis for
sentencing disparity for crack cocaine violations
in comparison to powder cocaine violations.
2010 Ron Paul 49:5
I will vote for the Senate legislation today
because it rolls back some of the enhanced
mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine
that the federal government created in
1986. These enhanced mandatory minimum
sentences have caused people convicted for
small amounts of crack cocaine to serve much
longer sentences in prison than people convicted
for the same amount of powder cocaine.
2010 Ron Paul 49:6
While the Senate legislation reduces the
drug weight basis for mandatory minimum
sentencing disparity between crack cocaine
and powder cocaine convictions for many individuals
to only 18 to one compared to the total
elimination of the disparity in Representative
SCOTTís bill, the Senate bill does make a step
in the right direction. The Senate bill eliminates
entirely the mandatory minimum sentence
for simple possession of crack cocaine
and reduces significantly the mandatory minimum
sentence for many people convicted of
crack offenses by raising the number of grams
of crack cocaine a person must possess for
each mandatory minimum sentence level to
apply. In addition, the Senate bill allows courts
to show compassion for individuals with compelling
cases for leniency by reducing sentences
for some people convicted of controlled
substances violations who a court determines
meet requirements including having minimum
knowledge of the illegal enterprise, receiving
no monetary compensation from the illegal
transaction, and being motivated by threats,
fear, or an intimate or family relationship.
2010 Ron Paul 49:7
Unfortunately, while the Senate bill reduces
some of the most extreme and unjust mandatory
minimum sentences in the federal drug
war, it also contains expansions of the federal
drug war that I fear may yield results destructive
to individual liberty and public safety. In
particular, the Senate bill significantly increases
maximum allowed monetary penalties
for violations of federal restrictions on controlled
substances and increases sentences
for people convicted of controlled substances
violations whose circumstances include certain
aggravating factors.
2010 Ron Paul 49:8
Some people will argue that the increased
penalties in the Senate legislation are desirable
because they target people who are high
up in the illegal drug trade or who took particularly
disturbing actions, such as involving a
minor in drug trafficking. But, the history of the
federal drug war has shown that ramping up
penalties always results in increasing rather
than decreasing the harms arising from the
federal drug war. Such enhanced penalties increase
the risks of the drug trade thus causing
illegal drug operations to be more ruthless and
violent in their tactics. Enhanced penalties
also can result in even more inflated prices for
illegal drugs, leading to more thefts by individuals
seeking funds to support their drug use.
High monetary fines for drug trafficking also
tend to provide police and prosecutors with a
perverse incentive to focus on nonviolent drug
crimes instead of violent crimes.
2010 Ron Paul 49:9
Each successive ramping up of the federal
war on drugs has made it more evident that
this war is incompatible with constitutional
government, individual liberty, and prosperity.
It is time for Congress to reverse course. I am
optimistic that S. 1789—even with its faults—
may signal that Congress is ready to begin reversing
course. It is imperative that the House
of Representatives pursue a dialogue on how
we can end the federal war on drugs—a war
that has increasingly become a war on the
American people and our Constitution.
