Criminal justice reform bill still alive as McConnell deliberates

Chuck Grassley and other advocates of criminal justice reform are desperately trying to sway Mitch McConnell to stay longer in December to finish their bill. And McConnell isn’t ruling it out.

The Senate Judiciary chairman said he’s still waiting on an official word from the majority leader on whether he will provide floor time to take up a measure that has drawn heated opposition from some Senate Republicans.

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But the Iowa Republican said the bipartisan bill could be done “very fast,” despite concerns from Republican leaders that the bill could take nearly a week to finish and eat up limited space on the calendar.

McConnell said the Senate GOP is still deliberating on whether to move forward, though he left the door open in a brief Thursday interview.

“We’re trying to figure out how to proceed on it. We’re still trying to figure that out,” the Kentucky Republican said.

McConnell has said his top priorities are passing the farm bill, confirming judges and funding the government. Though advocates are optimistic McConnell will keep the Senate in session longer, a spokesman said there are no schedule announcements at this time.

Meanwhile, even as a bipartisan group of senators are still working on coming up with a new agreement to win more co-sponsors and the support of the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Justice Department may have its own ideas.

The agency circulated a draft, obtained by POLITICO, that rewrites a number of key provisions on Thursday after the current iteration drew fire for allowing some drug dealers and sex offenders to get certain benefits in the legislation.

The DOJ draft would still allow many federal inmates to earn time credits and obtain supervised release but would bar people convicted of violent crimes and major drug trafficking crimes. It would also increase penalties for attacking police officers and fentanyl dealers, a key concern of law enforcement groups and senators from states wracked by the opioid crisis.

The new bill was sent out to senators by Stephen Cook, a top Justice Department official. In an email to Senate offices, he said the rewritten prison and sentencing reform bill is “designed to address concerns by law enforcement groups.”

But one person working in favor of criminal justice reform slammed the draft as reflecting the efforts of a “rogue DOJ official who always hated the bill.” Democrats and Republicans have been working to overcome objections from Republican senators, but “this is not what is being considered,” the person said.

Grassley said Thursday afternoon that the bill’s sponsors are continuing to look at potential changes that would bring the bill further in line with some law enforcement groups’ preferences, but indicated that no new version was agreed upon

The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said supporters are considering excluding people from sentencing reforms that committed arson, certain drug crimes, and “taking care of the sheriffs’ concerns” about sex crimes.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has raised concerns recently about the bill allowing some sex offenders credits toward early release, arguing those criminals should be excluded from the bill’s sentencing provisions. Cotton and a handful of other Republican senators have been unwilling to allow a quick vote on the bill, called the “First Step Act,” over its sentencing provisions.