774
Breyer, J., dissenting
considered the problem before us. Or Congress instead might have had quite different goals in mind. As the majority says, Congress might have intended the Commission to insist that all three-time career offenders serve a real-time sentence significantly longer that the worst of them would likely have served before the Guidelines. The important point for present purposes is that the statute itself does not tell us which of these alternative goals Congress sought to achieve. The basic objectives of the career offender subsection—ensuring increased penalties for recidivist offenders who have committed crimes involving drugs or violence— and of sentencing reform are consistent with either basic purpose and thus do not resolve the ambiguity.
Third, the statute's legislative history, insofar as it is relevant, helps to explain why any search for a clear expression of congressional intent is pointless. When first enacted into law, the career offender subsection did not leave the word "authorized" hanging in midair. Rather, it said "maximum term authorized by section 3581(b) of title 18, United States Code." Pub. L. 98-473, 98 Stat. 2021 (emphasis added). The subsection to which the word "authorized" referred—a subsection that classified crimes by letter—read as follows:
"Authorized Terms.—The authorized terms of imprisonment are—
"(1) for a Class A felony, the duration of the defendant's life or any period of time;
"(2) for a Class B felony, not more than twenty-five years;
"(3) for a Class C felony, not more than twelve years; "(4) for a Class D felony, not more than six years; "(5) for a Class E felony, not more than three years; "(6) for a Class A misdemeanor, not more than one year;
"(7) for a Class B misdemeanor, not more than six months;
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