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S. 79 (117th): EQUAL Act

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About the bill

The ratio was 100:1 starting in 1986, then 18:1 starting in 2010. Should it be 1:1 now?

Context

Cocaine is federally classified as a Schedule II drug, the category with the second-highest potential for dependence and abuse, alongside the likes of Vicodin, Adderall, and meth.

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 created a 100:1 ratio for sentencing people who were caught with crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, black people are more likely to use crack cocaine, so the law had a disproportionate effect on nonwhites.

The law was partially crafted and advocated by then-Sen. Joe Biden, though he has subsequently walked back his support. “We were told by the experts that ‘crack, you never go back,’ that the two were …

Sponsor and status

Photo of sponsor Cory Booker

Cory Booker

Sponsor. Junior Senator for New Jersey. Democrat.

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Last Updated: Jan 28, 2021
Length: 3 pages
Introduced
Jan 28, 2021
117th Congress (2021–2023)
Status
Died in a previous Congress

This bill was introduced on January 28, 2021, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.

Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).

Cosponsors

35 Cosponsors (23 Democrats, 11 Republicans, 1 Independent)

Source
Congress.gov

History

Jan 28, 2021
 
Introduced

Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber.

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Sep 28, 2021
 
Companion Bill — Passed House (Senate next)

This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 1693 (117th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on S. 79 (117th).
Feb 16, 2023
 
Reintroduced Bill — Introduced

This activity took place on a related bill, S. 524.

S. 79 (117th) was a bill in the United States Congress.

A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.

Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number S. 79. This is the one from the 117th Congress.

This bill was introduced in the 117th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2021 to Jan 3, 2023. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.

How to cite this information.

We recommend the following MLA-formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work:

“S. 79 — 117th Congress: EQUAL Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2021. March 24, 2023 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s79>

Where is this information from?

GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.