What does the Sentencing Commission do here?
Congress told the U.S. Sentencing Commission to describe what counts as “extraordinary and compelling reasons” — reasons unusual and serious enough to shorten a sentence (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)). The Commission's answer is U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13. A judge's reduction must be consistent with it. Fitting a category is not a promise of release.
The law itself is 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Only a federal judge can order the reduction. The Bureau of Prisons can file the motion, or the person in prison can, 30 days after the warden receives their request (or sooner if they finish the Bureau's appeals).
The Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch. It writes the federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy statements like § 1B1.13.
What did the 2016 amendments do?
Amendments that took effect November 1, 2016, broadened the criteria. They followed public testimony and reports from the Justice Department's Inspector General finding that the Bureau of Prisons was not using its power to seek compassionate release as it should.
The 2016 version listed four categories: medical condition, age, family circumstances, and other reasons. Bureau policy generally followed those categories but applied them more strictly.
What did the Commission tell the Director?
Back then, only the Director could file. The 2016 commentary encouraged the Director to file whenever a person met one of the listed circumstances. It also said the court is in a unique position to decide whether a reduction is warranted, after weighing 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the listed criteria, and whether the person is a danger to anyone.
The Commission noted that its policy statement did not bind the Bureau, but was meant to encourage the Director to file when relief was warranted.
The First Step Act of 2018 let people file their own motions. On November 1, 2023, the Commission updated § 1B1.13 to cover those motions too, and listed six kinds of reasons in § 1B1.13(b): medical, age, family, abuse in custody, other reasons just as serious, and (b)(6) unusually long sentences. A small wording change (calling the agency the “Federal Bureau of Prisons”) takes effect November 1, 2026, unless Congress acts.
In Rutherford v. United States (May 28, 2026), the Supreme Court held that a sentencing change Congress did not make retroactive cannot be a reason, alone or combined with others, and that § 1B1.13 is invalid to the extent it says otherwise. In Fernandez v. United States (May 28, 2026), it held that a claim that the conviction is invalid belongs in a 2255 motion. Good conduct cannot be the only reason (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)). See statutes and policy and who may qualify.