Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123) Phone Script

The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 (S. 2123), also known as SRCA, would, among other provisions, reduce mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses, make those reductions apply retroactively to people already in prison and offer pathways for prisoners to end their sentences in halfway houses or in home confinement rather than prison if they participate in anti-recidivism and re-entry programs.

After you've made your call, let us know how it went!

Dialing Instructions:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak with your Senators’ offices. When the call is connected, introduce yourself and say that you are calling about the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123). The individual answering the phone will pass your message on to the member of Congress.

Speech Instructions:

Below is a sample script which you can use or adapt to make your call. Close with the appropriate legislative ask depending on your Senator’s current position on S. 2123 (see below to find your Senator).

Sample Short Script:

Hello, my name is ____(name)_____, and I am from _____(town)_______. I am calling today to speak about the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123). I urge the Senator to cosponsor / thank the Senator for cosponsoring the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act to make our criminal justice system more fair and just, and ask that the Senator speak with Senate leadership about scheduling floor time and a vote in the coming weeks.

Sample Full Script:

Hello, my name is ____(name)_____, and I am from _____(town)_______. I am calling today to speak about the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123).

I am calling today as a constituent and as a Reform Jew to urge the Senator to support / thank the Senator for supporting the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123).

Our criminal justice system is broken. With more than two million Americans in prison or jail, the United States has the largest incarcerated population in the world. Of the total population of prisoners in federal incarceration centers, around half are serving time for drug offenses, many of which are non-violent in nature.

I am also deeply concerned about the racial inequities in the criminal justice system with one in every three black men expected to serve time in prison at some point in his life, compared to one in every 17 white men. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act would take necessary first steps to reform the criminal justice system by reducing mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses, granting judges greater discretion in sentencing decisions, offering rehabilitated prisoners new opportunities to reduce their sentences, banning solitary confinement for juveniles and retroactively applying the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.

As a Reform Jew, my faith affirms the concept that the criminal is a human being, capable of reshaping their life. We read in Ezekiel 33:11: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn away from his way and live.” We should work for a criminal justice system that gives those who are incarcerated a real chance for reform, as well as one that does not disproportionately burden particular racial or ethnic groups.

I urge the Senator to cosponsor / thank the Senator for cosponsoring the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act to make our criminal justice system more fair and just. I also ask that the Senator speak with Senate leadership about scheduling floor time and a vote on the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act in the coming weeks.

Thank you for your time.