Political Quotes

“In the last Congress, the U.S. Sentencing Commission put forth a proposal, embraced by the administration and the Department of Justice and the President, that would address this issue in what I consider to be the wrong fashion. That proposal suggests that because there is a wide difference between the drug sentences that powder cocaine dealers receive and the sentence that crack cocaine dealers receive, we ought to bring them more in line with each other by making the sentences on crack cocaine dealers more lenient. That is the wrong way to proceed, Mr. President. And our legislation goes at it the right way, by making the sentences meted out to people who sell powder cocaine tougher. That is an important part of this legislation, not only because we need to make those sentences tougher, because we don't want people at the top of the drug chain to be getting lighter sentences than those at the bottom. But it is also important because it is critical that we send a signal that we are not going to make anybody's drug sentences, if they are peddling crack cocaine to our kids, any lighter.”