We applaud the introduction of the "Elimination of Barriers for Katrina Victims Act." If enacted, this legislation will enable thousands of people displaced or otherwise harmed by Katrina to gain access to food stamps, medical care, public assistance, public housing, and student loans that they would otherwise be barred from receiving because of past criminal convictions.

We write to express our deep concern about the possible repeal of a recent revision to the Russian penal code decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of narcotic drugs. This revision, enacted May 12, 2004, marked a watershed for Russian drug policy away from mass incarceration of suspected drug users and toward more humane policies grounded in public health and human rights.

Excessively severe drug laws have deprived thousands of children of their parents, Human Rights Watch said today. Governor Pataki and New York politicians in Albany are now debating legislation to reform these drug laws

Dear Speaker Silver: We write to support your efforts to secure meaningful reform to New York's drug laws. For the past quarter of a century, these laws have inflicted disproportionately severe sentences on drug offenders, imposed unwarranted restrictions on judicial sentencing discretion, and filled New York's prisons with low level offenders - almost all from minority communities. The mandatory prison sentences for these offenders all too frequently are inconsistent with respect for basic human rights, as we document in detail in our 1997 report, "Cruel and Usual: Disproportionate Sentences for New York Drug Offenders."