Washington • The Senate’s sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system cleared a major hurdle Monday, with an overwhelming majority helping to advance what probably will be one of President Donald Trump’s final bipartisan accomplishments from his first two years in office.
Senators voted 82 to 12 to end debate on the First Step Act, which has become a pet project for Utah Sen. Mike Lee. A final vote on the legislation may happen as early as Tuesday. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, also supported the legislation.
The bill would revise several sentencing laws, such as reducing the "three strikes" penalty for drug felonies from life behind bars to 25 years and retroactively limiting the disparity in sentencing guidelines between crack and powder cocaine offenses.