Senators in the United States released a finalized revision of a criminal justice bill. The bill moved closer to passing through the senate on Thursday following the revision and support gained from Republicans. The bill remained in limbo for months in Congress and is expected to be the last major bill passed with bi-partisan support before the presidential election takes place.
The measure has 37 co-sponsors so far and was awaiting the final revision to bring the bill up for a full senate vote.
The revised bill lowers the minimum sentencing for non-violent drug offenders. The revision did remove the mandatory minimum sentencing lowering for serious violent felonies. President Barack Obama’s administration has made an effort to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system and alleviate the overcrowding of the country’s prison system.
Charles Grassley, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, hopes that the revisions and addition of co-sponsorship from Republicans Mark Kirk and Steve Daines will be enough to sway Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the bill to vote in the Senate.
A section of the bill was removed that lowered the minimum sentence for unlawful gun owners that had three convictions or more of serious drug offenses and felonies. These individuals, under the initial bill, would have been eligible for resentencing.
