[T]he Committee saw fit to hold only three hours of hearings on [the bill]...,Moreover, the hearings took place on the Monday after a long recess, a nearly unprecedented move by the committee that minimized the number of Senators who were able to attend. By my count, only 11 Senators participated. The Committee has 19 members.
I suspect the rush is for two reasons. First, the (essential) Republican sponsors are backing this bill holding their noses, for reasons Chairman Grassley himself cogently explained when he was on the other side of this issue less than a year ago. Second, as Prof. Doug Berman has noted (in quite different language from the words I am using), as the streets of Washington, DC, and other major cities become bloodier and bloodier with escalating crime, "...the window for any meaningful federal sentencing reforms emerging from Congress is already starting to close."
No kidding.
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