Political Quotes

“Mr. President, prior to making the next unanimous consent request, I wish to make a statement on the Record relative to the bill that I will be asking for unanimous consent on. It is S. 1789. This bill is known as the Fair Sentencing Act. It is bipartisan legislation which has cleared both sides. At the conclusion of my remarks, I will, of course, ask for unanimous consent, but will ask permission, if possible, that the statement of Senator Sessions be printed in the Record. I don't know if he will be able to make it this evening, but if not, we will do our best to accommodate him. The Fair Sentencing Act would reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and increase penalties for serious drug offenders. Crack and powder cocaine have a devastating effect on families in America, and tough anti-cocaine legislation is definitely needed, but the law must also be fair. Current law is based on an unjustified distinction between crack and powder cocaine. Simply possessing five grams of crack--the equivalent of five tiny packets of sugar that you find in restaurants--carries the same sentence as selling 500 grams of powder cocaine. That is 500 packets of sugar. Five packets for crack; 500 packets for powder, the same sentence. This is known as the 100-to-1 disparity. I can remember as a Member of the House of Representatives when we enacted this legislation. Crack cocaine had just appeared on the scene and it scared us, because it was cheap and it was addictive.…”