Federal prisoners can earn time off through job and recovery programs

The First Step Act changed how federal prisons and federal sentencing work. People in federal prison are assessed for their risk and needs, and those who complete approved programs, such as job training, education or drug treatment, earn time credits. Eligible people can use the credits to move earlier into home confinement, a halfway house or supervised release.

The law also made a 2010 change retroactive. That earlier law had narrowed the gap between sentences for crack and powder cocaine, but only for new cases. Under the First Step Act, people sentenced under the old rules could ask a judge to cut their sentence. The Sentencing Commission found that through September 2021, courts granted 4,226 such reductions. Among 2,858 cases with enough sentencing data, the average reduction was 72 months; among cases with known race, 92% involved Black defendants. The law also eased some mandatory minimums for repeat drug offenses, widened the “safety valve” that lets judges go below them, and generally barred restraints during pregnancy and postpartum recovery.

It was bipartisan. Republican Chuck Grassley and Democrat Dick Durbin led the Senate deal. Republican Doug Collins and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries coauthored the House bill; Republican Mike Lee and Democrat Cory Booker were lead Senate sponsors, and Republican John Cornyn and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse wrote earned-time provisions. White House adviser Jared Kushner led the administration’s push, and President Donald Trump pressed for a vote. Every Democrat who voted supported it, along with most Republicans. Trump signed it December 21, 2018.