Sentencing Act of 1987
Public Law 100-182 · S. 1822 · 100th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Dec 7, 1987 · Crime and Law Enforcement
Sponsor: Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Cosponsors (3): Sen. Strom Thurmond, Sen. Ted Kennedy,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Sentencing Act of 1987 - Amends the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 and the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 to make technical amendments with respect to: (1) the application of certain provisions of such Acts; (2) the departure from sentencing guidelines; (3) procedures for appealing a sentence imposed by a magistrate; (4) reviewing sentences for which there are no applicable guidelines; (5) supervised release; (6) determining sentence guidelines for prisoners transferred to the United States; (7) petty offenses; (8) the authority of the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate temporary sentencing guidelines; and (9) Commission reporting requirements.
Grants the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts authority to contract for psychiatric aftercare.
Amends the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to permit persons convicted of certain labor-related offenses to seek relief in Federal court without first attaining Justice Department consent.
Eliminates the requirement that the Commission respond to defendant petitions for guideline modifications.
States that, with respect to offenses committed before the effective date of the Commission's sentencing guidelines, authority to lower a sentence below a statutory minimum shall be governed by specified provisions of Federal law.
Limits the term of imprisonment to be served by persons who violate their conditions of supervised release.
Committees
The record shows no committee referral for this bill.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 8 actions.
- Dec 7, 1987Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-182.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Nov 25, 1987PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Nov 20, 1987Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendments by Voice Vote.
- Nov 16, 1987FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Oct 28, 1987FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Oct 27, 1987IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.