MCHENRY SAYS NO DEAL TO COCAINE LAW CHANGE

HICKORY -- A disparity in the prison sentences of crack cocaine
offenders vs. powder cocaine offenders spurred legislation recently
to provide judges with more flexibility in reducing such sentences.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry said the move would mean disastrous
results for North Carolina.

About 460 prisoners would be released in the state, according to a
Justice Department report, McHenry said during a Friday conference
call with news media, including roughly 100 inmates in the next year.

"This is something all Americans should be concerned about," he said.

McHenry cited several other statistics for his position. Eighty
percent of crack cocaine violators have previous records, he said.
The Justice Department reports higher recidivism rates among those
prisoners. And about 65 percent had a criminal history involving
serious crimes of assault or worse, McHenry said.

Supporters of the change, including former president Bill Clinton,
say crack cocaine offenders were unfairly targeted under U.S.
sentencing guidelines.

Current federal penalties for selling five grams of crack cocaine
can warrant the same prison sentence as dealing 500 grams of the
powdered type.

The issue also contains a racial element as nearly 82 percent of
federal court defendants are black, but comprise only 27 percent of
those sentenced for dealing powder cocaine.

Civil rights advocates argue crack dealers often are targeted for
longer prison terms because the drug is in urban and minority communities.

McHenry also criticized the House Budget Committee's fiscal year
2009 budget, which calls for a $683 billion tax increase, the
nation's largest in history.

McHenry said raising taxes during economic uncertainly would be "immoral."

"The last thing we need is an additional tax burden," he said.