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H.R. 1693: EQUAL Act of 2021

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H.R. 1693: EQUAL Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-03-09 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2021-03-09 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Jeffries, Hakeem S. [D-NY-8] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: 1 recorded vote in our records. Latest: House roll call 297 (2021): On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, HR1693 (2021-09-28), Passed. See all
  4. Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

EQUAL Act of 2021

Plain summary

Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021 or the EQUAL Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Currently, different threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine (e.g., 28 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine) trigger the same statutory criminal penalties. This bill eliminates the lower quantity thresholds for crack cocaine offenses. Under the bill, the same threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine trigger the same statutory criminal penalties. The change applies to future cases and cases pending on the date of enactment. With respect to past cases, the bill authorizes a sentencing court to impose a reduced sentence on a defendant who was convicted or sentenced for a specified crack cocaine offense before this bill's enactment. A defendant does not have to be present at the sentence reduction hearing. Finally, the bill prohibits the reduction of a sentence that was previously reduced.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House), 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

EQUAL Act of 2021

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House)

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The strongest published arguments

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Jeffries, Hakeem S. [D-NY-8] · 56 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Tom Cole (R-OK), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), David P. Joyce (R-OH), Barry Moore (R-AL), Stephanie I. Bice (R-OK), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Frank D. Lucas (R-OK), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), Ralph Norman (R-SC), William R. Timmons IV (R-SC), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Nikema Williams (D-GA), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Jeffries, Hakeem S. [D-NY-8] reported raising $17.9 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Recorded votes

Words on this page, explained (2)
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).
Statute
A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong117-hr1693 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117