There are two types of federal sentencing laws: mandatory minimum sentencing laws, enacted by Congress, and the sentencing guidelines, enacted by the United States Sentencing Commission.
Mandatory minimum sentences have existed at various times in U.S. history, but the current laws FAMM is fighting were mostly enacted in a 1986 anti-drug bill. Members of Congress believed that stiff penalties would deter people from engaging in illegal drug activity and would incapacitate for long periods those who sold drugs. Many of these penalties are mandatory