The following information was obtained from the F.A.M.M (Families Against

Mandatory Minimums) hotline, (703) 685-6860. F.A.M.M. can be reached at

(202) 457-5790.

******

H.R. 3979, the proposed safety-valve amendment to the House's Crime Bill,

would exempt some non-violent drug offenders from the mandatory minimum

sentences, including retroactively. Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-NY) is trying

to block this amendment from getting through the Rules Committee. Please

call or fax Rep. Solomon's office and tell him you want the safety-valve

amendment to pass. His numbers are:

(202) 225-5614 Washington

225-1168 (fax)

(518) 587-9800 New York

587-1228 (fax)

Rep. Hughes (D-NJ), has proposed an amendment which would equalize

sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Currently, sentences

for crack (used mainly by blacks) are longer than sentences for powder

cocaine (used mainly by whites).

To support these two amendments, you can call the members of the Rules

Committee, listed below. In particular, you can call the Rules Committee

chairman, John Moakley (D-MA). His numbers are:

(202) 225-8273 (Washington), and

(617) 565-2920 (Massachusetts).

Also please call your own representative, and ask him or her to support

these amendments, (and add that you would prefer that he or she oppose the

Crime Bill as a whole). Note that my last email before this one contains

several other amendments worth supporting or opposing, including the Watt

amendment to strike the drug-trafficking death penalties from the

legislation, the Frank amendments, to exempt marijuana from those

penalties, and to remove non-violent drug offenses from qualifying for

the "Three-Strikes You're Out" legislation, the Washington amendment,

to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing (support all these), and the

Solomon amendments, which increase various marijuana penalties (oppose

these).

Rules Committee:

Committee member State Phone Fax

* Rep. Joe Moakley, Chair MA (202)225-8273 (202)225-3984

Rep. Butler Derrick SC (202)225-5301 (202)225-5383

Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson CA (202)225-5911 (202)225-0092

Rep. Martin Frost TX (202)225-3605 (202)225-4951

Rep. David E. Bonior MI (202)225-2106 (202)226-1169

Rep. Tony P. Hall OH (202)225-6465 (202)225-6766

Rep. Alan Wheat MO (202)225-4535 (202)225-5990

Rep. Bart Gordon TN (202)225-4231 (202)225-6887

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter NY (202)225-3615 (202)225-7822

* Rep. Gerald Solomon NY (202)225-5614 (202)225-6234

Rep. James H. Quillen TN (202)225-6356 (202)225-7812

Rep. David Dreier CA (202)225-2305 (202)225-4745

Rep. Porter J. Goss FL (202)225-2536 (202)225-6820

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Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)

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