Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Co-Sponsors Key Racial Justice Reform Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) became a cosponsor of the EQUAL Act, a bipartisan bill that would fully and finally eliminate the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The disparity is one of the worst vestiges of the failed War on Drugs, and has devastated poor and Black communities in New York and across the country.

Leader Schumer’s co-sponsorship is just the latest indication of growing momentum behind this critical criminal justice measure. Just this month, the bill has been endorsed by two of the nation’s leading law enforcement voices, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. In the last two weeks, the bill has gained seven new Senate cosponsors including Leader Schumer, bringing the total number of senators signed on to the bill to 20. The EQUAL Act already passed the House of Representatives with a resounding 361 to 66 vote, demonstrating bipartisan support ranging from members of the Freedom Caucus to the Progressive Caucus.

New York racial justice and civil rights groups have been calling on Leader Schumer to bring the bill to a vote on the floor in the Senate, with letters sent in November 2021 and February of this year signed by Citizen Action NY, Dream Corps Justice, Hispanic Federation, Innocence Project, JustLeadershipUSA, NAACP New York Conference, New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New York Urban League, New Yorkers United for Justice, Drug Policy Alliance, and Vera Institute of Justice.

Leader Schumer joins New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the driving forces behind this campaign to correct one of the most overt racial injustices in federal criminal law. The bill is also cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH), Rand Paul (R-KY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).

Leader Schumer’s sponsorship of the EQUAL Act was applauded by New York criminal justice and civil rights advocates:

Inimai Chettiar, Federal Director, Justice Action Network, former Justice Director of the Brennan Center for Justice: “I applaud Leader Schumer for cosponsoring the EQUAL Act and for his outstanding leadership and deep commitment to criminal justice reform. New York families and communities have been unfairly targeted by the failed War on Drugs for decades, and I am proud to see my Senator taking a stand to end this injustice. I urge him to bring the EQUAL Act to the floor as soon as possible so that the legislation can be sent to the President’s desk.”

Janos Marton, National Director, Dream Corps JUSTICE: “As a New Yorker who has seen the devastating impact of the War on Drugs on our communities, I am deeply grateful for Senator Schumer’s cosponsorship of the EQUAL Act. New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws helped set decades of racist policies in motion, and with legislation, we can not only reunite thousands of families, but start to undo the harms of that era. We look forward to Senator Schumer’s leadership in getting this bipartisan bill across the finish line.”

Source: Karen Mustiga