After weeks of inaction, Senate lawmakers are suddenly in position to pass an historic and bipartisan criminal justice reform bill that has attracted the support of reluctant conservatives, thanks in part to last-minute changes that are tougher on violent criminals.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Tuesday his plans to hold a vote on the bill, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has pledged to bring up the Senate-passed version by year’s end, an aide told the Washington Examiner.
“I’m ecstatic,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a lead sponsor of the First Step Act, told the Washington Examiner. Lee said the vote is scheduled for next week.
Lee’s bill is aimed at reducing sentences for nonviolent criminals, a change that lawmakers on both parties have supported. The changes made to the bill would block judges from allowing offenders with serious criminal records to be eligible for reduced sentences and prevent serious violent offenders from using time credits to gain an earlier prison release.
Lee’s close Senate ally, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, helped win enough GOP votes to convince McConnell to take up the measure. Cruz drafted an amendment to the legislation that he said would exclude violent offenders from earlier prison release.
The legislation had drawn criticism from some GOP lawmakers because it appeared to let serious drug dealers and violent criminals escape mandatory minimum sentencing laws and would have let them use new time credits to get out earlier.
“I drafted an amendment to exclude violent criminals, to keep the focus on nonviolent drug offenders,” Cruz said in an interview Tuesday. “Both the White House and bill sponsors accepted my amendment.”
Cruz, once an opponent of the measure, is now a co-sponsor. “I think the odds are quite high we will have the votes to pass it with a significant bipartisan majority,” he said.
McConnell had been reluctant to take up the bill, despite public support from President Trump and a push from Trump’s top adviser, Jared Kushner.
But Cruz said “a growing consensus in the conference” finally convinced McConnell to bring the bill for the floor. “The bill sponsors worked in good faith to address the concerns that I and a number of other senators had.”
Republican opponents, including Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., argued the bill would still pave the way for those convicted of carjacking and major drug dealing to get out of prison earlier.
Cotton praised the Cruz amendment but said he remains opposed to the bill.
“Unfortunately, the bill still has major problems and allows early release for many categories of serious, violent criminals,” Cotton said Tuesday. “This includes felons who commit violent bank robberies with dangerous weapons, who assault children, and who commit carjacking with the intent to cause death. I look forward to debating this bill on the Senate floor and introducing amendments to address its many remaining threats to public safety.”
Support for the bill has long been in the 70 to 80 vote range, and a majority of GOP senators are onboard.
Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., announced Monday he would vote for the measure after “working closely with the Trump administration” on the changes.
“The improved First Step Act will help make our federal prison system fair to all, while still providing severe deterrents to criminal behavior,” Perdue said.
Some Republicans haven’t decided how they will vote.
“I’m looking at it,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told the Washington Examiner. “I’m hoping that they are meaningful changes because I’ve said all along we do need real criminal justice reform, especially for nonviolent people. But we want to make sure that the violent ones don’t come back on the streets.”
While timing in the House has not been announced by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the minority whip, told reporters Tuesday: “I presume … we will be able to approve it next week. I’m hopeful that it can move that quickly.”
Al Weaver contributed.
