Prison sentencing bill advances over Sessions objections

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill




BY LYDIA WHEELER - 02/15/18 12:31 PM EST

Legislation to reduce mandatory minimum prison sentences for certain non-violent drug offenders advanced in the Senate Thursday despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions strongly urging the committee to vote it down.

In a 16-5 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. The bill has bipartisan support and was also approved by the committee in the last Congress, but failed to get to the floor for a vote.

Sessions objected to the bill in a letter to Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Wednesday. In the letter, obtained by The Hill, Sessions said the bill “would reduce sentences” for a “highly dangerous cohort of criminals,” and that passing it “would be a grave error.”

Grassley admonished Sessions during the markup, saying the former Alabama senator should have run for his old job if he wanted to legislate.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/374045-prison-sentencing-bill-advances-over-sessions-objections

[asiliveandbreathe]

1. Sessions covering his ass.such a dweeb - he knows perfectly well how the senate works..and

knows the senate is an independent body from the USAG..thanks for your input..move along now...btw - sessions has no business as the USAG..I wonder if sessions is using the POS's talking points...

[riversedge]

2. For once, I will give Grassley a high five. Yet too many times he has voted with Trump.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. Grassley doesn't deserve it

Don't forget the tax scam.

Also:

“Certainly we value input from the Department of Justice, but if [Attorney] General Sessions wanted to be involved in marking up this legislation, maybe he should have quit his job and run for the Republican Senate seat in Alabama,” said Grassley, who broke from his prepared comments to note that the Sessions seat is now held by a Democrat.

Note the presumption that it is a *Republican* Senate seat.
Entitled, self-serving, bloviating old reprobate.

[riversedge]

6. my high five is weak and short lived. I do not trust the old coot.

[riversedge]

3. oh oh, I do think Repugs will vote no in Congress......

.........Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) also expressed doubt during Thursday's markup that the bill will pass Congress and gain the support of the president, but ultimately voted in favor of sending it to the floor for a vote.

“My concern based on the discussion we’re having here and the sausage factory that occurs over on Capitol Hill is that we’re probably not going to produce an outcome, at least one that’s going to go to the president’s desk,” he said.

“I hope I’m wrong, but I think we do have to do some work to address the concerns on the sentencing piece.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said the bill would have a better chance of passing Congress if it didn’t allow nonviolent offenders previously sentenced under mandatory minimums to petition the court for a review and reduction of their sentence. He offered an amendment to strike that provision.

Cruz said he fears the bill as written will give both nonviolent and violent offenders the chance to have their sentences retroactively reduced.

“If you want this bill to be more than a messaging press release, if you want this bill to actually to go into the United States code, particularly given that we have an administration and an Attorney Genera who have come out against it, I would suggest the way to maximize the chances of doing anything to fix the problem is to accept this amendment,” he said.

[Maxheader]

4. Call me a cohort you little oky shrimp

"highly dangerous cohort of criminals"

and i'll give you a cheetoz face wash.