Dear FAMM member,

H.R. 4547, "Defending America's Most Vulnerable: Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child Protection Act of 2004," is moving fast. The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security passed it yesterday and FAMM expects the full House Judiciary Committee to debate and vote on it next week (September 21-23, 2004.) If this bill becomes law, it will add terrible mandatory minimum sentences, decrease the discretion of judges and gut the safety valve, among other harmful effects. We must act now to stop H.R. 4547.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GET READY TO ACT!
FAMM needs your help in the coming days to fight this terrible sentencing bill. You will receive an "ACT NOW" e-mail from FAMM when the time is right, probably by the end of next week, to contact your representatives. Why wait?  Because the bill has not reached most members of the House of Representatives yet; if you contact them now about it, they won't know what you are talking about.  But by the end of next week, the bill will be headed for a full House vote.  Use this time to get ready to act! 

- Educate yourself about H.R. 4547. Read fact sheets, past action alerts, bill analysis and more on H.R. 4547 at http://www.famm.org/.
- Identify the name, telephone number and address of your federal representative by going to http://capwiz.com/famm/dbq/officials/ and entering your home ZIP code.
- Forward this message to your friends and neighbors who have e-mail. Print and distribute copies of this alert to those who don't.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT'S WRONG WITH H.R. 4547?
H.R. 4547 adds terrible mandatory minimum sentences, decreases the power of judges and the U.S. Sentencing Commission and guts the safety valve, among other harmful sentencing practices.

- H.R. 4547 creates new mandatory minimum sentences and senselessly increases existing ones.
- H.R. 4547 virtually eliminates the safety valve, which helps first-time, nonviolent, low-level offenders who tell authorities about their crime and related activity and thus avoid harsh mandatory sentences originally designed for kingpins and serious drug traffickers.
- H.R. 4547 weakens the federal guideline system, reduces judicial discretion and increases the powers of prosecutors to determine sentences.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND ON H.R. 4547 
Read fact sheets, past action alerts, bill analysis and more on H.R. 4547 http://www.famm.org/si_federal_sentencing_sensenbrenner_hr4547_resources.htm

- Makes the sale of any quantity of any controlled substance (including anything greater than five grams of marijuana) by a person older than 21 to a person younger than 18 subject to a ten-year federal mandatory minimum sentence.

- Mandates life in prison for persons 21 years or older convicted a second time of distributing drugs to a person under 18 or convicted a first time after a felony drug offense has become final.

- Increases to five years the federal mandatory minimum sentence for the sale of a controlled substance, of any type or quantity, within 1,000 feet of a school, college, public library, drug treatment facility (or any place where drug treatment, including classes, are held), or private or public daycare facilities - in short, almost anywhere in cities across the U.S.

- Strips the federal "safety valve," granting it only when the government certifies that the defendant pled guilty to the most serious readily provable offense (the one that carries the longest sentence), and has "done everything possible to assist substantially in the investigation and prosecution of another person," and would prohibit the federal "safety-valve" in cases where drugs were distributed or possessed near a person under 18, where the defendant delayed his or her efforts to provide substantial assistance to the government, or provided false, misleading or incomplete information.
 
- Eliminates the mitigating role cap under the federal sentencing guidelines for minimal or minor drug offenders and prohibit the sentencing commission from reinstating the cap.

- Strengthens the use of relevant conduct to enhance a person's sentence by making the person accountable for the conduct of other members of the conspiracy that occurred before the person joined the conspiracy but was known by the person before joining.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Read fact sheets, past action alerts, bill analysis and more on H.R. 4547 http://www.famm.org/si_federal_sentencing_sensenbrenner_hr4547_resources.htm

For more information, contact:
FAMM
1612 K St. N.W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: (202) 822-6700
Fax: (202) 822-6700
E-mail: famm@famm.org
http://www.famm.org/