WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said on Tuesday that amendments to a bill to lower sentences for certain non-violent drug offenders are close to being finished.  Grassley said the amendments, which go further to ensure violent offenders are not released, will build more support for the bill among Republican leadership in the Senate, which will decide whether to bring the bill up for a vote.  “We are very close to making some changes in this bill so we can get it brought before the United States Senate,” Grassley said. Lowering the sentences of drug offenders sentenced under older and more severe laws has been touted as one of the lone areas of bipartisan agreement in a sharply divided U.S. political climate.  Grassley, who once stood in opposition to sentencing reform, introduced a comprehensive criminal justice bill in October that was endorsed by the White House.  In January, a group of Republicans led by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton raised concerns about the bill, citing its potential to qualify thousands of violent criminals for early release.  Criminal justice reform advocates say the legislation would not guarantee the release of violent criminals but simply allow their cases to be reevaluated by a judge.  Grassley called Cotton’s concerns “legitimate and reasonable” when speaking at Georgetown University Law School on Tuesday.  Though he did not provide specifics on the amendments, Grassley did say his team of legislators may have to drop parts of the bill that would have allowed offenders caught with firearms in their possession to have their sentences lowered.  “We may have to jettison some changes in the firearm offenses and we may be able to do a better job to make sure that no one with a serious history of violence can get any relief under the bill,” Grassley said.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not made any guarantee that he will bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. But Grassley said the amendments will increase those chances.  “I’m confident that with the changes that we’re making in the bill that we’ll get even more support for our bill,” Grassley said.  “And with more support, I’m confident that we will be able to go to the leaders in the Senate and persuade them that this bill is exactly what the American people need to see happen in the United States Senate.” 
Final sentencing reform bill near, says Senate's Grassley