Joe Biden on Criminal Justice Reform

Biden spearheaded the Comprehensive Control Act of 1984, which expanded federal drug trafficking penalties and civil asset forfeiture, without first proving a person is guilty of a crime.

Biden co-sponsored and co-authored the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 198, which increased penalties for drug crimes, and most notably, created a large sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.

Biden led the effort to pass the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which he in part authored. This law imposed harsher sentences and increased funding for prisons. States were able to receive funding for prisons if they passed “truth-in-sentencing” laws that required people convicted of crimes to serve at least 85% of their sentences. The law included the “Three Strikes” law, and provided federal funding for drug courts as part of diversion efforts. It also included other measures, such as the Violence Against Women Act that helped crack down on domestic violence and rape, a 10-year ban on assault weapons, funding for firearm background checks, and grant programs for local and state police. In 2016, after CNBC asked Biden if he was ashamed of the 1994 law, Biden responded, “Not at all. As a matter of fact, I drafted the bill, if you remember.” He acknowledged that there were parts of the law he’d change, but argued that “by and large what it really did, it restored American cities.”

Biden co-sponsored the Recidivism Reduction and Second Chance Act of 2007, which expanded services to offenders and their families for reentry into society.