All-Network Email: Sentencing Commission Priorities – June 2025

Dear FAMMily, The 2025-2026 United States Sentencing Commission amendment cycle is upon us! On June 9, 2025, the Commission published its proposed priorities. This is the Commission’s way of receiving stakeholder input on the issues they plan to prioritize this amendment cycle. Many of these proposals will seem familiar to you because they were considered in the last amendment cycle. Three of the proposals that FAMM will be weighing in on are summarized below:

 1. The Career Offender Guideline
The Commission continues to examine the career offender designation, which imposes enhanced penalties on individuals with certain prior convictions. We hope that the Commission will evaluate ways to reduce the impact of the career offender designation on individuals. One way to minimize the impact of this guideline might be to limit the prior offenses that trigger the enhanced punishment.

2. Methamphetamine Sentences
In 2024, the Commission issued a report related to sentences for methamphetamine offenses. Those sentences are some of the highest among all drug offenses. The Commission’s own report showed that the driving forces behind these long sentences (meth purity distinctions) are outdated. The Commission is considering whether to prioritize amendments to address the outdated purity distinction in meth offenses. 

3. The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Role in Meeting the Purposes of Punishment
The commission is interested in reviewing the Bureau of Prison’s (BOP) role in sentencing and punishment. This could include considering policies that address overcrowding at BOP, access to programs and meaningful education while in custody, among other things. 

What can you do to influence the Commission’s priorities this year? Weigh in on their proposals! 

You can comment on the three listed above, any others the Commission has proposed (you can find the full list here, https://www.ussc.gov/policymaking/federal-register-notices/federal-register-notice-proposed-2025-2026-priorities), or you can propose your own priorities for the Commission to consider. 

The Commission is accepting public comment on its proposed priorities through July 18, 2025. To submit your comment, visit https://www.ussc.gov/policymaking/public-comment and click “Submission Portal.” 

Download our template that you can use to write to the Commission. Feel free to personalize this! Personalizing your message by sharing your story with the Commission helps illustrate what is at stake with these policy considerations. 

The post All-Network Email: Sentencing Commission Priorities – June 2025 first appeared on Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation.