Amendment Cycle Adopted Amendments

News Release
April 16, 2026
[email protected]

U.S. SENTENCING COMMISSION ADOPTS PACKAGE OF
GOOD GOVERNMENT GUIDELINE AMENDMENTS TO
SIMPLIFY, STREAMLINE FEDERAL SENTENCING

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Today, the bipartisan United States Sentencing Commission took several steps to simplify and streamline application of the federal sentencing guidelines. In unanimous votes, the Commission adopted a package of good government guideline amendments intended to promote fairer and more consistent application of the sentencing guidelines. Also included in this package is an amendment to implement the HALT Fentanyl Act, which was signed into law last year and permanently schedules fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.

These 2025-2026 amendments advance the Commission's multiyear priority of simplifying the guidelines and are based on data as well as thousands of pages of public comment.

Highlights of the newly adopted package include amendments that:

• More clearly delineate the sentencing options available under the guidelines to assist courts in making the critical decision of whether to impose a sentence of probation, fine, or a term of imprisonment;
• Update the economic crime guidelines to account for inflation, an adjustment that has not been made in more than ten years;
• Streamline and simplifies how the guidelines account for multiple counts of conviction to promote more consistent application and reduce litigation;
• Eliminate more than two dozen specific offense characteristics (SOCs) that are rarely or never applied, some of which date back to the original Guidelines Manual in 1987.

Additionally, the Commission took a significant step toward responding to the SAFER SKIES Act, new legislation that was signed into law in December 2025. The Commission voted to publish a proposed amendment that would address new offenses created by the Act and implement a directive related to unmanned aircraft.

Commission Chair Judge Carlton W. Reeves said, "The Commission is grateful for the thousands of pages of public comment we have received from judges, probation officers, practitioners, advocacy organizations, incarcerated individuals and others about areas in the federal sentencing guidelines that could be simplified and improved. Today's common sense, good government amendments were informed by this valuable feedback as well as the Commission's sentencing data."

The amendments will be submitted to Congress by May 1, 2026, and absent congressional action, go into effect on November 1, 2026. The complete list of these amendments can be found here.

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