President backing major rewrite of sentencing laws

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his support for the first major rewrite of the nation’s criminal-justice sentencing laws in a generation.

“Today I’m thrilled to announce my support for this bipartisan bill that will make our communities safer and give former inmates a second chance at life after they have served their time,” Trump said at the White House, hailing the deal as proof that “true bipartisanship is possible.”

Lawmakers reached an agreement this week on the bipartisan legislation that would boost rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and give judges more discretion when sentencing nonviolent offenders, particularly for drug offenses.

Criminal-justice reform has been a priority of Trump’s son-in-law, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who has been working on the issue for many months.

Trump pushed for swift passage of the legislation, potentially during the lame- duck session of Congress.

“I’ll be waiting with a pen,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. was cautious about the bill’s prospects Wednesday. He told reporters that GOP leaders would do a whip count to gauge the bill’s support once they have a final proposal in hand.

Still, he noted the Senate has other things it needs to accomplish in the final weeks of the year, including funding the government and passing a farm bill. He said Republicans would have to see how the criminal-justice bill “stacks up against our other priorities” once a final agreement is reached.

The bill is a rare bipartisan endeavor in a typically log-jammed Congress and has attracted support from a coalition of liberal and conservative groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and groups backed by the political donors Charles and David Koch. Critics say current sentencing guidelines are unfair and have had a lopsided impact on minority communities.

The Senate package overhauls some of the mandatory sentencing guidelines that have been in place since 1994 legislation approved by Congress and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.