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No. 96-3260 _____________

United States of America, * * Appellee, * * Appeal from the United States v. * District Court for the * Eastern District of Missouri. Maurice Safford, also known * as Maurice Smith, * [UNPUBLISHED] * Appellant. *

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Submitted: November 19, 1996

Filed: November 27, 1996 _____________

Before BOWMAN, MAGILL, and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Maurice Safford, an African-American, challenges the 120-month sentence imposed by the district court1 after he pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine base (crack) with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). We affirm.

At issue is Safford's offense-level calculation, which was drived from the penalty scheme set forth in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1), providing the same penalties for given amounts of crack and 100 times greater amounts of powder cocaine. Safford argues that the 100-to-1 ratio has a disproportionate adverse effect on African-Americans; Congress's rejection of the Sentencing Commission's

1 The Honorable Charles A. Shaw, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. proposed amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines--which would have eliminated the 100-to-1 ratio and equalized the penalties for crack and powder cocaine--evidences a discriminatory purpose on Congress's part in maintaining the penalty scheme; and, thus, continued application of the scheme violates his Fifth Amendment equal protection and due process rights.

We recently rejected similar arguments in United States v. Carter, 91 F.3d 1196, 1198-99 (8th Cir. 1996) (per curiam).

Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.

A true copy.

Attest:

CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.