EQUAL Act of 2021
Latest action · Sep 29, 2021 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 9, 2021
- Passed HouseSep 28, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021 or the EQUAL Act of 2021
This bill eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
Currently, different threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine (e.g., 28 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine) trigger the same statutory criminal penalties.
This bill eliminates the lower quantity thresholds for crack cocaine offenses. Under the bill, the same threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine trigger the same statutory criminal penalties.
The change applies to future cases and cases pending on the date of enactment. With respect to past cases, the bill authorizes a sentencing court to impose a reduced sentence on a defendant who was convicted or sentenced for a specified crack cocaine offense before this bill's enactment. A defendant does not have to be present at the sentence reduction hearing. Finally, the bill prohibits the reduction of a sentence that was previously reduced.
Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 297 | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed361–66 | Sep 28, 2021 |
Cosponsors 56
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 9, 2021 to Sep 27, 2021; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NE | Don Bacon | Original | Mar 9, 2021 |
| R-ND | Kelly Armstrong | Original | Mar 9, 2021 |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Original | Mar 9, 2021 |
| R-SC | Nancy Mace | Mar 12, 2021 | |
| R-WA | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Apr 8, 2021 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Apr 8, 2021 | |
| R-TX | Van Taylor | Apr 8, 2021 | |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Apr 13, 2021 | |
| R-KY | Thomas Massie | Apr 13, 2021 | |
| R-MI | Peter Meijer | Apr 14, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Apr 14, 2021 | |
| R-IN | Victoria Spartz | Apr 15, 2021 | |
| R-PA | Guy Reschenthaler | Apr 19, 2021 | |
| R-OK | Tom Cole | May 11, 2021 | |
| R-AL | Barry Moore | May 12, 2021 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 9, 2021Markup Jul 22, 2021Reported Sep 27, 2021 |
| Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee | Referred May 18, 2021Discharged Jul 22, 2021 | |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Mar 9, 2021Discharged Sep 27, 2021 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Mar 10, 2021 | |
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Sep 29, 2021 |
Actions 18
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 29, 2021Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Sep 28, 2021Mr. Nadler moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 28, 2021Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5477-5481)
- Sep 28, 2021DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1693.
- Sep 28, 2021At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
- Sep 28, 2021Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H5492-5493)
- Sep 28, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 361 - 66 (Roll no. 297). (text: CR H5477)
- Sep 28, 2021Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 27, 2021Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 117-128, Part I.
- Sep 27, 2021Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged.
- Sep 27, 2021Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 92.
- Jul 21, 2021Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Discharged.
- Jul 21, 2021Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 21, 2021Ordered to be Reported (Amended).
- May 18, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- Mar 10, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Mar 9, 2021Introduced in House
- Mar 9, 2021Referred to the Committee 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S9727–S9729 | Cory A. Booker D-NJ, Tom Cotton R-AR | Dec 21, 2022 |
| House | Debate and remarks H5477–H5481Text printed H5477Recorded votes H5492enactLists H5493Votes recorded by proxy on H.R. 1693, Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act | David N. Cicilline D-RI, Hakeem S. Jeffries D-NY, Jerrold Nadler D-NY, Louie Gohmert R-TX, Rashida Tlaib D-MI, Robert C. "Bobby" Scott D-VA, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Sep 28, 2021 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 44, March 9, 2021, page H1190.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF11965 | Cocaine: Crack and Powder Sentencing Disparities | Resource | Nov 9, 2021 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 79 | EQUAL Act | Identical bill | Jan 28, 2021 |
Titles 9
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- EQUAL Act
- Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- EQUAL Act of 2021
- Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- EQUAL Act of 2021
- Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021
- EQUAL Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 29, 2021Referred in Senate
- Sep 28, 2021Engrossed in House
- Sep 27, 2021Reported in House
- Mar 9, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
