U.S. Congress - FAMM

U.S. Congress

FAMM is advocating federal mandatory minimum sentencing reforms, prison oversight, and our Second Chances Agenda in the 118th Congress, which begins on January 3, 2021, and runs until January 3, 2025. As reform bills are introduced in Congress, FAMM’s summaries and positions on them will be posted below. Contact Daniel Landsman, our Deputy Director of Policy, at dlandsman@famm.org for assistance with legislation.

Learn more about our Federal Second Chances Agenda.

Learn more about some of our legislative priorities this year.

Learn More About Pending Bills

We stand ready to help members of Congress on the following kinds of sentencing and prison reforms:

See FAMM’S Congressional Briefing Book for More Resources

How Our Federal Campaign Works:

To change federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the U.S. Congress must pass new legislation. To help sentencing reform bills become law, FAMM meets regularly with Members of Congress and their staffs and provides them with data, resources, analysis and advice, stories of impacted people, and assistance with drafting reforms. When asked, FAMM and its supporters testify before Congress and its committees. Get involved to support our reform efforts today!

How Bills Become Law:

To become a law, a sentencing reform bill must first be introduced by a Member of Congress, then reviewed by the Judiciary Committee, passed by both Houses of Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate), and signed by the President. This can be a lengthy and difficult process. Sometimes, reform bills do not become law for several years. Each session of Congress lasts two years. Any bill that does not become a law in that two-year period “dies” at the end of that time – which means the process to make that bill a law has to start all over again from scratch in the next Congress. Learn more about how a bill becomes a law.

For more information, please contact:

Daniel Landsman
Deputy Director of State Policy
1100 H Street NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 822-6700
Email: dlandsman@famm.org