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Congressman Cohen Votes to Pass EQUAL Act

September 28, 2021

Ending the disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today voted for, and the House passed, the Eliminating the Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act, a sentencing reform measure that ends the disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses.

The vote on passage was 361 to 66.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"I have advocated for ending the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses for decades, and I am proud to vote in favor of the EQUAL Act. That powder-crack disparity falls hardest on African Americans and is unjustifiable and blatantly unfair. As I have said many times before, the war on drugs has been a failure, and the crack-powder disparity has been a glaring example of its inequity. I was pleased to work in the Judiciary Committee to advance this bill to the floor in July and look forward to seeing it signed into law."

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