H.R. 3713: Sentencing Reform Act of 2015

Before you vote › Federal bills

H.R. 3713: Sentencing Reform Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-10-08 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 698.

federal

Save to my notebook What does this mean? Print

Official title

Sentencing Reform Act of 2015

Plain summary

Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to reduce from 20 to 15 years and from life to 25 years the mandatory minimum prison terms for certain nonviolent repeat drug offenses. (A drug offense includes the unlawful import, export, manufacture, or distribution of, or the possession with intent to distribute, a controlled substance.) Additionally, it establishes an enhanced mandatory prison term of up to five years for a drug offense involving heroin that contains fentanyl or fentanyl that is represented or sold as heroin. The bill limits the prior convictions which trigger enhanced mandatory minimum prison terms. (Sec. 3) The bill amends the federal criminal code to expand safety valve eligibility to permit a court to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum for certain nonviolent, cooperative drug defendants with a limited criminal history. (Sec. 4) A court may impose a reduced 5-year (instead of a statutory 10-year) mandatory minimum prison term for certain nonviolent, cooperative defendants convicted of a high-level first-time or low-level repeat drug offense. (A high-level drug offense involves a very substantial drug quantity, such as one kilogram or more of heroin. A low-level drug offense involves a substantial drug quantity, such as 100 grams to 999 grams of heroin.) It reduces the enhanced mandatory minimum prison term for certain defendants who commit a high-level repeat drug offense, use a firearm in a crime of violence or drug offense after a prior conviction for such offense, or unlawfully possess a firearm after three or more prior convictions. It permits retroactive application of such reductions for defendants without a prior serious violent felony conviction, after a court considers certain factors. (Sec. 5) The bill reduces from 25 to 15 years the mandatory minimum prison term for a defendant who uses a firearm in a crime of violence or drug offense after a prior conviction for such offense. A court may apply the reductions retroactively, subject to certain exceptions, after considering certain factors. (Sec. 6) It reduces from 15 to 10 years the enhanced mandatory minimum prison term for an armed career criminal convicted of unlawful firearm possession after three prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. A court may apply the reductions retroactively, after considering certain factors. (Sec. 7) The bill makes the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive to permit resentencing of a convicted crack cocaine offender sentenced before August 3, 2010. (Sec. 8) The Department of Justice must report to Congress on mandatory minimum sentencing provisions under federal law. (Sec. 9) It expresses the sense of Congress that a comprehensive strategy to reform the criminal justice system must integrate a mental health component.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

The strongest published arguments

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Goodlatte, Bob [R-VA-6] · 79 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 3713, Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 (2016-05-18)

Cosponsors on this site

Judy Chu (D-CA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Scott H. Peters (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Peter Welch (D-VT), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Mark Takano (D-CA), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL) and 19 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr3713.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr3713 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114