Civil and Human Rights Coalition Urges Senate Republicans to Stay the Course on Sentencing Reform in 2016
WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement encouraging the Senate Republican Conference to continue its path toward passing the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act in 2016. Recent news reports have highlighted a lack of unanimity within the GOP, which would be commonplace on this or any other issue:
“It is exceedingly rare for an entire party’s conference to unanimously commit itself to a piece of legislation, and sentencing reform is no different. Recent reports have played up this commonplace occurrence and we urge the Senate GOP conference to stay the course on passing a sentencing reform package in 2016.
Legislating happens so rarely these days that it is easy for many to forget the simple fact that intra-party disagreements and conversations can occur during the lawmaking process.
The window of opportunity is here. To have a coalition of small government conservatives and civil rights-minded progressives, an engaged Congress, a bipartisan bill ready for the Senate floor, and a president willing to sign it into law is a rare chance to show the country that Washington can both reduce the size of government and protect its citizens all at once.
Working through disagreements is a part of legislating; now let’s continue moving forward in 2016.”
Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
###