Statement from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) on applying sentencing guidelines retroactively:
“The Sentencing Commission is poised to once again overstep its role and enforce laws not as enacted by Congress, but as the Sentencing Commission believes they should be enacted. Congress did not create the Sentencing Commission to legislate or amend the laws passed by Congress. But that is precisely what the Commission is considering with the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. Nothing in the Act nor in the congressional record implies that Congress ever intended that the new crack cocaine guidelines should be applied retroactively. And yet, the Sentencing Commission may release thousands of crack traffickers before they have fully served their sentences.
“I’m also disappointed by the Obama administration’s position supporting the release of dangerous drug offenders. It shows that they are more concerned with wellbeing of criminals than with the safety of our communities. This sends a dangerous message to criminals and would-be drug offenders that Congress doesn’t take drug crimes seriously.
“The members of the Sentencing Commission are unelected and therefore are not accountable to the American people. Time and again, the Sentencing Commission has chosen to usurp the authority of Congress and impose its will on our communities. It is time for Congress to restore accountability to our sentencing laws and ensure that the Sentencing Commission cannot continue to create law without Congressional approval.”
