S. 3649: First Step Act

115th Congress · introduced 2018-11-15 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 674.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2018-11-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 674. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

First Step Act

Plain summary

First Step Act This bill amends various provisions of law and sets forth new provisions: to require the Department of Justice to establish and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to implement a risk and needs assessment system; to modify the computation of good time credit; to allow federal correctional officers to securely store and carry concealed firearms on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of a prison; to limit the use of restraints on federal prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery; to reduce mandatory minimum prison terms for certain nonviolent repeat drug offenses; to broaden the existing safety valve to permit a sentence below the mandatory minimum for certain nonviolent, cooperative drug offenders with a limited criminal history; to make the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive; to require prisoners to be placed within 500 miles of their primary residence; to require low-risk prisoners to be placed on home confinement for the maximum amount of time permitted; to reauthorize through FY2022 and modify eligibility for an elderly offender early release pilot program; to require the BOP to help prisoners obtain identification documents prior to release, to incorporate de-escalation procedures into training programs, and to make tampons and sanitary napkins available free of charge; to authorize Federal Prison Industries to sell products to additional markets; to require probation and pretrial services officers to perform court-directed supervision of sex offenders conditionally released from civil commitment; to require the BOP to establish pilot programs on youth mentorship and service to abandoned, rescued, or vulnerable animals; and to limit juvenile solitary confinement.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

First Step Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

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: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] · 42 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 3649, First Step Act of 2018 (2018-12-14)

Cosponsors on this site

Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Tim Scott (R-SC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Todd Young (R-IN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patty Murray (D-WA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] reported raising $527,998 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s3649.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s3649 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115