Bills in Congress

Federal bills FAMM is following are listed below and grouped by issue (for example, crack cocaine bills).

IMPORTANT: Federal bills do not become law until they pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate and are signed by the President. If the House and the Senate pass different versions of the same overall legislation, then typically a special conference committee composed of representatives of both chambers meets to try to settle the differences. If they reach agreement, the compromise is sent back to the floors of the House and Senate for a final vote. If both bodies approve it, the compromise is sent to the President.

The bill has to travel through Congress and be signed by the President during the congressional term in which they are introduced. Each congressional term is two years. If the bill does not pass both the House and Senate before the end of Congress, the bill does not become law. For a reminder on how a bill becomes a law, take a walk down memory lane on the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives' website that explains how a bill becomes a law.

Federal sentencing bills that FAMM is following:

INCREASED JUDICIAL DISCRETION

H.R. 3327, The Ramos-Compean Justice Act of 2009

H.R. 2934, the Common Sense in Sentencing Act of 2009

MANDATORY MINIMUMS: DRUGS

H.R. 1466, the Major Drug Trafficking Prosecution Act of 2009

CRACK COCAINE SENTENCING POLICY

S. 1789, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2009

H.R. 3245, the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009

H.R. 2178, the Crack Cocaine Equitable Sentencing Act of 2009

H.R. 1459, the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009

H.R. 265, the Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2009

H.R. 18, the Powder-Crack Cocaine Penalty Equalization Act of 2009

REVIEW OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND SENTENCING