Durbin, Grassley Issue Statement On First Step Act Ruling On Low-Level Drug Offenders

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tarahrick Terry v. United States, a case related to the interpretation of provisions of the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA) and the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010:

“Obviously, we argued for a different result in this case. We had hoped a majority of the justices would agree, but Congress can still act. It’s now up to Congress to clarify the statute to unambiguously address sentencing in cases like Mr. Terry’s.”

The Fair Sentencing Act, authored by Durbin, reduced the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1. In 2018, Durbin, Grassley, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Mike Lee (R-UT) were the lead sponsors of the First Step Act, which made the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive. Durbin, Grassley, Booker, and Lee submitted an Amicus Brief to the case earlier this year.

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