mr. chairman , i rise today in support of the waters/scott amendment which strikes out all mandatory minimums in h.r. 1279 . 
the mandatory minimums proscribed in this legislation will only result in many young people serving long sentences , at least ten years , based on the circumstances of rather than the crime itself . 
perhaps it is no surprise that mandatory minimums have come under criticism for being discriminatory in nature . 
the enormous monetary and human costs associated with incarceration simply outweigh the supposed benefits of the proposed legislation . 
it is well known that incarceration costs american taxpayers millions of dollars each year , what is not as widely known is that it also costs millions to reintegrate those released from prison back into society . 
additionally , as suggested in the recent booker decision , judges often refuse to hand down mandatory minimums if they feel that they are draconian . 
with the proposed changes , we may even see juries unwilling to convict an obviously guilty defendant if they know that doing so will result in ten years ' imprisonment . 
creating laws that are likely to go un-enforced will not foster faith in the criminal justice system or help take down gangs . 
