In other news from Washington, the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced a bill that would change cocaine sentencing laws. The initial proposal called for completely eliminating the discriminatory 100-to-1 disparity between sentencing for crack and powder cocaine. But in a bid to win Republican support, Democrats agreed to weaken the proposal and reduce the ratio to 20-to-1. Drug reform advocates have criticized the move. Jennifer Bellamy of the American Civil Liberties Union said, “There is no justification for this remaining sentencing gap. This legislation is long overdue, but it does not go far enough.”