Protecting Family Values

I believe my values are shared with most Mississippians. As a Southern Baptist, I am a strong supporter of Christian family values.  I do not support gay marriage and believe in the traditional definition of marriage. 

Wicker Statement on Supreme Court Religious Liberty Decision

June 27, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s 6-3 verdict in the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District:

“Religious freedom is a bedrock principle enumerated within our Bill of Rights,” Wicker said. “The Supreme Court upheld this principle and our founding documents by coming down on the side of Coach Kennedy. The Court’s protection of the rights of Americans to practice their sincerely-held beliefs is both proper and vital. I will always stand with those who defend one of America’s most sacred traditions and keep the right to religious expression unimpeded.”

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District reviews a decision made by a lower court that permitted a Washington state high school’s head football coach to be terminated for conducting silent, public prayer after school football games.

Wicker joined an amicus brief led by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. in August urging the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court decision.

Wicker, Hyde-Smith, Palazzo, Guest, Colleagues Seek Withdrawal of WHO Abortion Guidelines

Miss. Lawmakers Join Bicameral Letter Opposing U.N. “Anti-Life Recommendations"

May 24, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and U.S. Representatives Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., and Michael Guest, R-Miss. joined more than 50 lawmakers asking the World Health Organization (WHO) to retract its recent far-reaching guidelines on abortion.

In a letter to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the lawmakers expressed strong opposition to the agency’s updated Abortion Care Guideline, which advocates for abortion on demand, dismisses conscious objections of healthcare providers, and puts pressure on governments to adopt the recommended policies. The updated guidelines follow years of controversy regarding the role, allegiance, and effectiveness of the WHO, an arm of the United Nations.

U.S. Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah and U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. spearheaded the effort.

“We, members of the U.S. Congress, write to you today with concerns about the World Health Organization’s (W.H.O.) dangerous new abortion guidelines. These extreme new guidelines aim to remove all legal and policy safeguards on abortion, impose restrictions on the conscience rights of health workers, and ignore the right to life and the safety of the mother and child,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers criticize the WHO for attempting to dehumanize preborn children, categorizing abortion as “self-care,” and demanding “the full decriminalization of abortion” without any gestational age limits.

“To categorize abortions as ‘self-care’ not only strips away the humanity and dignity of a preborn child but also contradicts international standards recognizing the preborn child as a rights-holding person,” the lawmakers continued.

The guidance, the lawmakers assert, also dismisses the rights of individuals and institutions that oppose abortions on ethical, moral, personal, or religious grounds.

“The W.H.O.’s radical stance reveals that it is all too willing to cave to pressure from the abortion industry and to force health care providers to choose between committing violence against an innocent baby and her mother, or being unemployed,” the lawmakers added.  “This stance also inevitably threatens patient access to health care in geographic areas that are primarily served by faith-based health care providers given that those who hold conscience objections would be deemed unfit for service.”

“Given the W.H.O.’s influence, this guidance will likely cause severe, irreversible harm, not only to U.S. citizens but to women and children worldwide,” the lawmakers concluded. “Such overreach and trampling of national sovereignty also further delegitimizes the W.H.O. and U.N. in the eyes of many people around the world.  For these reasons, we ask that the W.H.O. reverse course and retract the anti-life recommendations that it has promoted through the release of its 2022 abortion care guidelines.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Wicker, Colleagues Combat Baby Formula Shortage

Senators Introduce FORMULA Act to Open Up New Supply Lines

May 19, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss. joined Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Bill Cassidy, M.D., R-La. in introducing the Fixing Our Regulatory Mayhem Upsetting Little Americans (FORMULA) Act. This legislation is aimed at combating domestic baby formula shortages and bolstering the supply chain to help American families feed their babies.

“Parents are struggling to feed their newborns because baby formula has disappeared from the shelves,” Wicker said. “Congress needs to act quickly to address this problem. I am pleased to cosponsor legislation that would provide relief and allow more product to reach the market.”

“American babies are going hungry and the federal government is standing in the way. Current policies, tariffs, quotas, bans, and regulations are preventing mothers and fathers from being able to make the best choices to feed their babies. My FORMULA Act will give these families relief during this unprecedented shortage. Congress needs to pass this bill immediately to protect American babies from going hungry,” Lee, the lead sponsor of the measure, said.

The FORMULA Act would target supply chain disruption by temporarily waiving trade barriers like tariffs and quotas on importation that reduce the supply and increase the price of available foreign-made formula. The bill would also waive regulations that prevent the importation of safe baby formula from abroad. This would allow American families to access safe and plentiful formula manufactured in Europe and elsewhere during the current shortage. The bill would also allow recipients of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program to use vouchers to purchase formula from any producer rather than be limited to the brand or product listed on specific vouchers, which may be unavailable.

The act was introduced following baby formula shortages across the country. Supply chain challenges have caused the out-of-stock rate for formula to triple from six months ago. The shortages come in the immediate aftermath of a recall and temporary closure of a major American formula factory, but highlight systemic weaknesses in this vital supply chain.

Wicker, Hyde-Smith, Colleagues Urge President Biden To Combat Crime

Miss. Senators Cosponsor Resolution Calling on White House to Work with Congress to Tackle Crime, Border Crisis

May 16, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., today joined colleagues to introduce a resolution calling on the Biden administration to work with Congress to develop a plan to combat the rise in violent crime across the United States and address the crisis at the southern border.

The resolution, offered as the nation honors National Police Week, cited the record-setting rise in violent crime across the nation, including a 59 percent increase in murders of police officers in 2021. It also details the effect the ongoing border crisis on crime rates and illegal drug trafficking.

The resolution was led by U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., R-La. In addition to Wicker and Hyde-Smith, cosponsors include Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Martha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., James Lankford, R-Okla., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., John Kennedy, R-La., and Todd Young, R-Ind.

Read the resolution here and below:

Whereas rising crime, especially violent crime, in the United States poses a threat to the national interest, as well as to the safety and security of individuals, communities, businesses, law enforcement officers, and the rule of law;

Whereas, for the purposes of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, violent crimes consist of offenses that involve force or the threat of force, namely—

(1) murder and non-negligent manslaughter;

(2) forcible rape;

(3) robbery; and

(4) aggravated assault;

Whereas violent crimes are occurring every day in major cities across the United States in part due to progressive prosecutors declining to charge violent offenders and certain bail reform policies allowing dangerous criminals back into society;

Whereas released offenders go on to commit more violent crimes and inflict more terror and death on other individuals in the United States;

Whereas rising violent crime destroys families and should be combated by criminal justice systems that prosecute the offenders as offenders, and not as victims;

Whereas the murder rate in the United States rose 30 percent between 2019 and 2020, the largest single-year increase in more than a century;

Whereas there was a 59 percent increase in murders of police officers in 2021;

Whereas, as of April 1, 2022, 101 police officers had been shot this year, 17 of whom were killed by gunfire;

Whereas at least 16 cities in the United States set murder records in 2021;

Whereas organized retail crime threats in 2020 cost retailers an average of $720,000 for every $1,000,000,000 in sales, and 69 percent of retailers surveyed in 2021 had seen an increase in organized retail crime in 2021;

Whereas organized retail crime threatens the safety of retail workers as organized crime groups, gangs, and individuals use weapons other than guns, such as mace chemical spray and Taser stun guns, to rob and assault hard-working retail employees;

Whereas rising violent crime in the United States can be directly correlated to a surge in illegal immigration at the southern border of the United States and a surge in the sale, distribution, and consumption of illegal drugs;

Whereas, in December 2021, 178,840 illegal immigrants were apprehended attempting to cross the United States-Mexico border, the highest total for December in the history of the Department of Homeland Security, and a 142 percent increase from December 2020;

Whereas more than 2,500,000 illegal immigrants have been caught attempting to cross the United States-Mexico border since January 2021, with more apprehended in the 3-month period from November 2021 through January 2022 than in all of fiscal year 2020;

Whereas 461 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the southern border in December 2021 alone, enough to kill more than 30 percent of the United States population;

Whereas drug cartels have overburdened Border Patrol resources by surging illegal immigrants into strategic locations so that the cartels can traffic narcotics and other contraband into the United States undetected;

Whereas violent crimes related to illegal immigration and the illegal drug trade must stop for the sake of the sovereignty of the United States and the safety of the people of the United States;

Whereas, with overdose deaths at an all-time high, every State is a border State, as the flow of illegal drugs from the United States-Mexico border puts all States at risk regardless of proximity to the border;

Whereas securing the southern border and ensuring the safety of citizens of the United States is one of the most important responsibilities of the Federal Government;

Whereas the current Administration’s alleged violent crime reduction strategy is actually a gun control strategy and wrongly puts lawful gun owners and dealers at the center of enforcement efforts instead of focusing on the criminals perpetuating violence, insecurity, and fear across the United States;

Whereas the same gun violence reduction strategy unfairly puts the blame for gun violence in major, Democrat-run cities and States on neighboring States with lower crime rates; and

Whereas violent crimes can only be combated if the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, other law enforcement agencies, and the private sector work together: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the President should work with Congress to develop and execute a strategy, drawing on the multiple instruments of power and resources of the United States—

(1) to counter the rise in violent crime across the country by reinforcing strong criminal justice policies, by laying blame on the perpetrators of violent acts, and by securing the southern border; and

(2) to coordinate with Federal, State, and local agencies and authorities to—

(A) implement the strategy; and

(B) exhort all those agencies and authorities to strengthen their approaches to combat the violent crime epidemic within the country.

Wicker Defends Right to Life on Senate Floor

Miss. Senator: Schumer’s Extreme Abortion Bill Would Impose Late-Term Abortion on All 50 States

May 11, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., yesterday took to the Senate floor to defend unborn life ahead of a Senate vote on extreme abortion-on-demand legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced the legislation after a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court indicated a majority of the justices may soon overturn Roe v. Wade.

Wicker slammed the leak as a “full-blown assault” on the Supreme Court, and criticized the move by Schumer to hold a vote on legislation that would dramatically expand abortion nationwide

Wicker noted stark differences between the Schumer bill, which would legalize abortion in all 50 states up until birth, and several European countries, which have stricter abortion laws than even Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. The Mississippi senator cited scientific advances as well as shifting public opinion in favor of life as reasons for Democrats to abandon this legislation.

Read the full speech as delivered below or watch here.

I thank the Senator from Indiana and join him and my other colleagues in decrying the legislation that we will be asked to move to the floor tomorrow.

But before I speak on the substance of the bill, it needs to be reiterated why this bill is even before us.

The only reason we're debating this bill today is because an extreme and unprecedented breach of protocol took place in the Supreme Court.

The leaked draft in the Dobbs case was a full-blown assault on the United States Supreme Court and on the independence of our judiciary.

It was an attempt to incite mob- pressure against the justices, which has in part succeeded, by inciting pressure against the justices, in an attempt to bully them into changing their final votes.

And I do trust, based on the information we have about the nine justices, is that attempt will not be successful.

We saw over the weekend disturbing videos of protesters outside their homes, outside the homes of Supreme Court justices. There's growing concern for the safety of our Supreme Court justices, and the safety of their families.

This is shameful, Mr. President. A Supreme Court justice should never have to fear for his or her safety, or the safety of their families for doing their jobs.

We, as elected members of the Congress, are subject to public opinion. The Supreme Court is not supposed to be subject to public opinion and should never have to fear for their safety.

The leak and the mob- reaction should be condemned by both parties in the strongest possible terms. And yet, there have been very few voices on the other side of the aisle addressing this matter. Certainly, the Majority Leader of the Senate has not said a word about the outrage of the leak, or the mob protests, nor has the President of the United States.

What happened to respect and care for our institutions?

Instead of protecting the Court, our Democratic friends seem to be, whether inadvertently or not, legitimizing this attack on the Court by moving to consider extreme legislation, which is out of touch with the mainstream of Americans.

And so now, let me speak briefly about the legislation. It has been said that this is a mere codification of the Court's holding in Roe v. Wade.

That is, in fact, not the case. Instead, the bill that we will be asked to move to the floor tomorrow is an attempt to expand abortion dramatically across this county, to expand abortion in a way that only a small handful of the most repressive governments on the face of the Earth permit.

The bill would eliminate even the most modest protections for unborn children across all 50 states. It would force all 50 states to allow gruesome late-term abortions, that even the political left all over Europe have long ago outlawed.

As my friend from Indiana said earlier, some 47 European countries generally ban abortion after the first 15 weeks. Banning abortion after 14 weeks are our allies of France and Spain. Banning abortion after 13 weeks, Finland. Banning abortion after 12 weeks: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland. Certainly not governments that are thought of as prisoners of the extreme right.

The nation of Portugal generally bans abortion after 10 weeks. Of course, as we know, the Mississippi law that brought this case to the Supreme Court, the Dobbs case, has a slightly more permissive provision than even these friends that I just mentioned from Western Europe. It would be a 15-week ban.

But what this bill that we were asked to vote on tomorrow, and which will certainly fail, would do is push America further outside of the global mainstream than we already are. And we already are way outside this mainstream.

Because of scientific advances, we know that an unborn child’s heartbeat begins at six weeks. We know a child can feel pain as early as 20 weeks.

Many of us, including my wife and I, have put the sonograms of our grandchildren, have displayed them on our refrigerators in our homes. What we know about the development of children, their faces, their eyelashes, has brought about a change in the minds of many Americans.

In 1996, 56 percent of Americans called themselves pro-choice. Only 33% said they were pro-life.

But because of science, and because of those sonograms, and because of what we know about their ability to feel pain, their movements, their eyes blinking, their eyelashes – today, the two sides are just about evenly split, pro-choice and pro-life.

But even those who identify themselves as pro-choice are deeply opposed to late term abortions. And make no mistake about it, if somehow the Schumer bill tomorrow were to pass, late-term abortions would be legal in all 50 states. 81% of Americans think late term abortions should be illegal.

Our friends on the Democratic side should think about that.

This bill goes against 81% of American public opinion in that regard. 65% say abortion should be illegal in the second trimester. Not the third trimester. In the second trimester. 65% of Americans.

I hope our Democratic friends across the aisle think about that before they vote for this extreme piece of legislation, brought by the Democratic leader, which would put us in league with the People's Republic of China, with all of their respect for life. With North Korea, with its deplorable record of respecting human life. With those two countries, and five others on the extreme left. It would put us in league with them.

That's not where the American people want us to be, Mr. President. If a state has a 24-hour waiting period, for example, the Schumer bill tomorrow would outlaw that. Taxpayer-funding of abortion. The Hyde Amendment, which prohibits this and has done, so for decades and decades, would be abolished.

The parental rights of teenage girls to have a say and to be able to counsel their daughters on the pivotal decision about having an abortion would be eliminated by this.

And religious exemptions – a practicing Catholic who deep in their soul understands this to be infanticide, would be required, if they were a physician, to perform an abortion with no religious exemption.

Is that what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are hoping for? It's what they would get if the Schumer bill were to pass.

Mr. President, this is not a serious attempt at consensus building. This bill simply reflects, regrettably, the iron grip that Planned Parenthood has on one of our major political parties in this country.

We will reject this effort tomorrow. I commend my colleagues who intend to stand with the American people, and vote no on this attempt to rank us with the worst regimes on the face of the globe, and impose late-term abortions on the entire country.

I yield the floor, Mr. President. 

Wicker: Supreme Court Leak Is Attack on Key Institution

Historic Breach of Trust Threatens Independence of the Court

May 9, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court came under unprecedented attack last week when a news outlet published an early draft of a majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a Mississippi abortion case currently before the court. The leak of this confidential document – weeks ahead of the expected ruling – is a stunning betrayal of trust within the court’s chambers. The draft decision, if adopted by the court, would overturn Roe v. Wade, returning the issue of abortion to the people and their elected representatives. This news triggered a wave of hostile pressure against the justices ahead of their official ruling.

Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed that the leaked draft is authentic but said it does not represent a final decision by the court. He immediately ordered an investigation to find the leaker. Every American should be outraged that one person working at the court chose to short-circuit the judicial process in one of the most consequential cases in our lifetimes.

Biden, Democrats Use Leak for Political Purposes

Instead of condemning this leak, Democrats in Washington have chosen to exploit it for political purposes. Within hours of the news story, President Biden called the draft opinion “radical” and insisted there is a constitutional right to “abort a child.” His allies in Congress went even further. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the draft “an abomination” and “one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history.” In a baseless slander, they accused the conservative justices of having “ripped up the Constitution” and “lied to the U.S. Senate.”

A few hours later, Senator Schumer vowed to hold a vote on legislation that would impose abortion-on-demand nationwide, even though this bill already failed in February. Predictably, some Democrats have renewed their push to end the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, hoping they will somehow find the votes to pass extreme abortion policies with a bare majority. This effort faces tough odds, however, as Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have stood strong with Republicans to protect the filibuster.

The Leaker Must Be Found

Members of the Supreme Court rely on absolute trust and discretion to carry out their duties, often exchanging multiple drafts of opinions before they are announced. This leak will severely damage that trust, putting at risk the ability of our nation’s highest court to function. It will also set a disturbing precedent of inciting mob pressure to intimidate the justices before they issue a decision. For the sake of the court’s independence, this leaker must be found and punished. If it was a law clerk, he or she should be fired and disbarred for life. If it turns out that a Supreme Court justice in any way aided or knew of this leak and did nothing to stop it, they should be impeached by Congress.

Official Ruling Still to Come

Like many pro-life Americans, I was encouraged that the draft opinion indicated Roe v. Wade may soon be overturned. Pro-life advocates have fought for 50 years to achieve this outcome, and I was pleased to do my part last year by leading 228 members of Congress on an amicus brief supporting Mississippi’s case. But we should be careful not to get ahead of this decision. Until we see the court’s official ruling, we can only hope and pray for the end of Roe v. Wade and for unborn children to receive the full protection they deserve.

ICYMI: Wicker Joins “Fox News Live” to Discuss Supreme Court Leak, Inflation

May 7, 2022

TUPELO, MISS. – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today joined “Fox News Live” with anchor Anita Vogel to discuss a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic case, which is challenging Roe v. Wade. Wicker also discussed the impacts of soaring inflation under the Biden Administration.

Wicker urged caution against getting ahead of the Court’s final decision and expressed frustration with the attempt to erode public confidence in the Court. He also restated his view that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.

“I just defy anyone to look in the Constitution as it was written or as it has been amended over time, and find a constitutional right to abortion,” Wicker said. Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, and I think politically decided. If this turns out to be the final decision, and the justices have cautioned us not to jump to that conclusion, then I think most Americans will be comfortable with the people and their elected representatives making this decision, as they had done for some century and a half before the decision came down.”

Wicker responded to additional reports that a liberal activist group leaked the addresses of Supreme Court justices, heightening the risk to the justices as they deliberate on the Dobbs case. The White House refused to condemn the leaks.

“I really think this is going to backfire on the pro-abortion people around the country,” Wicker said. “The person within the Supreme Court’s close circle who leaked this improperly will be found out eventually, and this person…will be disbarred from practicing law. I think this was really a breach of a centuries-long precedent on the court.”

Vogel and Wicker also covered the impact of rising inflation rates, which have outpaced wage gains this year. Wicker called on President Biden to end his war on American energy to help bring down high energy prices, which have driven cost increases across the economy.

“It is the Biden Administration's war on producing oil and gas that has caused the huge spike at the pump,” Wicker said. “And this inflation - prices are up 8.5 percent across the board, and as your chart just showed, wages are only up 5.5 percent. That means middle class American workers that got a nominal pay raise are actually 3 percent behind from where they were before they got the pay raise. So inflation is terrible, I think it’s going to be the major issue this year.”

Wicker, Hyde-Smith, Colleagues Continue Fight Against Woke Capitalism

Senators Call for the Termination of Citibank as the U.S. Senate Credit Card Provider for Circumventing Abortion Laws

April 29, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss. and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss are among 10 Senators who today called on the Senate Sergeant at Arms to immediately terminate Citibank as the U.S. Senate credit card provider following the company’s recent announcement that it would pay for its employees to travel out of state for abortions.

The Senators’ demand was made in a letter to Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson.

“…Citi is now paying for its employees to travel to obtain abortions out-of-State that are illegal in the employees’ State.  Citi’s decision to finance abortion tourism for its employees in brazen circumvention of State law, shows a reckless disregard for the lives of preborn children and disdain for the will of the people of the States in which Citi acts as an employer,” the Senators wrote.

“Consistent with nearly five decades of Federal policy against using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, taxpayer dollars used by the U.S. Senate should not be administered through a company that facilitates abortion on demand and promotes a woke, pro-abortion agenda.  Accordingly, we ask that you immediately terminate the U.S. Senate’s existing contracts with Citi and refrain from entering into any new contractual agreements with Citi,” the letter continued.

U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont. led the letter, which was also signed by Senators Roger Marshall, M.D., R-Kan., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Marco Rubio. R-Fla., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and James Lankford. R-Okla.

Read the full letter here.

 

Wicker Cosponsors Legislation to Reform Drug Sentencing

SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act to Reform Sentence Disparities, Target Drug Dealers

April 28, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today joined U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C to introduce the SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act, which would reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenders tried in federal courts. The legislation aims to make sentencing fairer while also preserving the ability of courts to keep those most likely to reoffend off the street. The measure would also take on the surge of powder cocaine entering the country by isolating heavy sentencing for high-level drug traffickers and kingpins.

“Sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine have been a problem for some time,” Wicker said. “We need to be able to resolve those disparities while still punishing the cartels and drug networks that severely impact American families and communities. I am glad to join Senator Grassley on this well-designed legislation to improve the fairness, transparency, and effectiveness of our drug laws.” 

“I’ve worked on this issue for many years. I cosponsored the 2010 legislation led by Senators Durbin and Sessions to reduce the disparity in sentencing from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1. It’s high time to do more to address this important issue and make our criminal code more just and fair. Our legislation will significantly reduce this disparity while ensuring those more likely to reoffend face appropriate penalties. Powder cocaine is being trafficked across the border in historic volumes, so we also need to take precautions that ensure these traffickers also face justice for spreading poison through our communities,” Grassley said.  

“In the past few years we have seen a huge increase in the amount of drugs being trafficked across our Southern border, especially cocaine. Not only is this bill an important step towards fairer sentencing of crack cocaine offenders, it will also give law enforcement officers more tools to fight drug trafficking,” Lee said. 

The SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act would reduce the current crack-to-powder cocaine sentencing disparity from 18:1 to 2.5:1. It would reduce the volume required to trigger five-year mandatory minimum sentences for powder cocaine from 500 grams to 400 grams, and from 5 kilograms to 4 kilograms for 10-year mandatory minimum sentences. For crack cocaine, the volume triggering a five-year mandatory sentence would be increased from 28 grams to 160 grams; the volume for the 10-year mandatory sentence would be lifted from 280 grams to 1,600 grams.  

The act would also require an attorney general review and certification process for any retroactive sentencing adjustments. It provides for new federal research and reporting regarding the lethality and addictiveness of these substances, as well as what violence is associated with cocaine-related crimes. The research would include analysis of recidivism rates on these drug-related crimes. 

Full legislative text of the SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act can be found here

Wicker, Lankford, Colleagues Call for Investigation into Apparent Partial-Birth Abortions

April 6, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., joined U.S. Senator James Lankford, R-Okla, in calling for an investigation into the reported death of five babies in Washington, D.C., who were discovered at a D.C. building last week. The letter, which was sent to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Robert Contee called for an autopsy, since evidence suggests one or more of the babies may have lost their life through an illegal partial-birth abortion or may have been born alive.

“Last week, DC Metropolitan Police recovered the remains of five preborn children apparently from the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, DC, a facility operated by the late-term abortionist Dr. Cesare Santangelo,” the Senators wrote. “Instead of ensuring that the horrific deaths of these children were properly investigated, Metropolitan Police made the assumption that each child died as the result of a legal abortion. It is our understanding that this assumption was made without conducting any medical evaluations. We also understand from press reports that the DC medical examiner does not plan to perform autopsies on the children. This is completely unacceptable.”

“These five children, like all children, have inherent value and deserved better than abortion—they deserved life. But at a minimum, they deserve to have their deaths investigated to ensure that no DC or federal laws were broken,” the Senators continued. “In light of this, we demand that a thorough investigation is conducted into the death of each child. In order to accomplish such investigation, we request and fully expect the city to preserve all of the children’s remains as evidence and conduct autopsies. Finally, at the conclusion of such examinations, we urge the city to properly and respectfully bury the babies.”

In addition to Wicker and Lankford, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Bruan, R-Ind., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Boozman, R-Ark., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, led a companion letter in the House of Representatives.

The full text of the letter can be found here.