Lafayette Reporter

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the Consensus in Sentencing Act aimed at reinstating bipartisan decision-making processes at the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The bill, if passed, would require significant policy changes to garner bipartisan agreement among the Commission's voting members.

Kennedy emphasized the historical significance of bipartisan collaboration at the Sentencing Commission, stating, "The Sentencing Commission for decades strove to achieve bipartisan agreement when adopting amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines. In recent years, the Commission has lost its way and begun forcing through amendments on party-line votes. My bill would help the Sentencing Commission revive its consensus-building culture."

Providing background information, it is noted that the Sentencing Commission consists of seven voting members, with a limitation that no more than four members can be affiliated with the same political party. However, recent practices under the current leadership have seen a departure from this bipartisan approach, with major policy changes being pushed through on a party-line basis.

The legislation put forth by Sen. Kennedy seeks to amend 28 U.S.C. § 994(a) to mandate that any amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines must secure five votes from the Commission's seven voting members, promoting bipartisan consensus in decision-making processes.

Joining Sen. Kennedy in this initiative are Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as cosponsors of the Consensus in Sentencing Act. The bill aims to address the recent trend of partisan decision-making at the Sentencing Commission and steer it back towards a culture of bipartisan cooperation.

For those interested, the full text of the Consensus in Sentencing Act is available for review.