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Congression I Research Service
Info rming the I egisla tive debate since 191 4
June 6, 2023
Congressional Review of Proposed Amendments to the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines
The U.S. Sentencing Commission promulgates the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines, which serve as the starting point for
every federal criminal sentence imposed across the country.
The Commission is required by statute to revise the
Guidelines periodically. Any such revisions must follow a
statutorily prescribed amendments process. Under that
process, the Commission must send proposed amendments
to Congress. Submission triggers a 180-day congressional
review period. If Congress allows for the review period to
pass without further action, each of the proposed
amendments takes effect. Alternatively, Congress may
modify or reject a proposed amendment.
This In Focus provides an overview of the Commission,
outlines the amendments process, describes the lone
historical instance in which Congress rejected proposed
amendments to the Guidelines, and offers considerations for
Congress.
Congress's Creation of the U.S.
Sentencing Commission
A 1983 Senate report observed that, for most of American
history, federal judges possessed virtually unfettered
discretion at sentencing: a judge generally could impose
any sentence that fell within the broad bounds of the
statutory minimum or maximum penalties set by Congress.
If a statute specified that a sentence for a given offense
shall be no more than twenty years in prison, for
example, a judge theoretically could impose a sentence
anywhere within that twenty-year range.
In the 1970s and 1980s, federal judges, scholars, and others
expressed concern that wide statutory ranges and maximum
judicial discretion together produced widespread sentencing
disparities-i.e., that similarly situated defendants were not
receiving similar sentences. A leading voice on federal
sentencing reform, U.S. District Judge Marvin Frankel,
recommended that Congress create a National
Commission that would identify national norms on
sentencing. If federal judges referenced the same norms at
sentencing, greater uniformity in sentencing outcomes
would likely result, Judge Frankel and others argued.
Congress agreed. In 1984, Congress enacted the Sentencing
Reform Act (SRA), P.L. 98-473, found in Title II of the
Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The SRA
established the U.S. Sentencing Commission and directed
this new agency to develop sentencing policies and
practices for the Federal criminal justice system that
would, among other things, avoid[] unwarranted
sentencing disparities.
Though designed to be mandatory, the Guidelines are now
advisory and remain the anchor for federal sentencing
determinations. More than 1.9 million defendants have been
sentenced under the Guidelines since their inception.
The Guidelines Amendments Process
In the SRA, Congress instructed the Commission to
periodically ... review and revise the Guidelines in light
of additional data, cases, and congressional directives. In
the inaugural Guidelines, the Commission acknowledged
that the Guidelines were designed to be evolutionary. The
Commission explained that continuing research,
experience, and analysis will result in modifications and
revisions to the guidelines.
The SRA also spells out the steps and the schedule that
must be followed for revisions to be made to the
Guidelines-generally known as the amendments cycle.
The Commission's amendment cycle typically begins in
June with the publication in the Federal Register of
proposed priorities for agency analysis and possible further
action, and a request for public comment on these priorities.
The Commission reviews and considers any public
comments and, in August of the same year, publishes in the
Federal Register a list of final priorities. The agency next
performs additional research and confers with key
stakeholders, and this engagement may include public
hearings. In January of the following year, the Commission
publishes proposed amendments in the Federal Register
and again requests public comment. The Commission may
revise the proposed amendments based on comments and
further stakeholder input. The Commissioners typically
vote on any proposed amendments in April.
If the Commission approves any proposed amendments that
year, the SRA requires the Commission to submit such
amendments to Congress by May 1. The SRA then provides
Congress with a review period of 180 days to modify or
disapprove the proposed amendments. The SRA further
states that the amendments will take effect on November 1,
unless Congress modifies or rejects them.
Rejcton f roosed Amendments to
The Commission has amended the Guidelines Manual
(including Guideline provisions, policy statements, and
official commentary) more than 800 times. Each of these
amendments is listed in Appendix C to the Guidelines and a
Supplement to Appendix C. In the history of the
Commission, there has been one instance in which
Congress rejected proposed amendments to the Guidelines.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govelwb0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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