The repeal and replacement of Section 7 by Section 4205(h) of the Parole Commission and Reorganization Act of 1976 received scant attention in the legislative history, apparently because Congress was satisfied with the interpretation of federal parole law at the time it passed the new legislation. For instance, in following Mr. Justice (then Judge) Blackmun's lead in Jones v. United States, 419 F.2d 593, 594, 599 (8th Cir. 1969), which had narrowly interpreted the term "mandatory penalty" in Section 7 to mean "a sentence which must be served devoid of the benefits of suspension [of sentence], probation, and parole," the Ninth Circuit had expressly held that Section 7 was not an obstacle to parole eligibility for a defendant convicted of aircraft piracy. United States v. Ortiz, 488 F.2d 175, 178-79 (9th Cir. 1973).
Id. See also Jones v. United States, 419 F.2d 593, 598 (8th Cir. 1969). There can be no doubt, however, that a declaration of legislative intent is precisely what is authorized under Section 4 of Senate Bill 132. What is again perhaps even more suspect is the effective elevation of the "document" reflecting legislative intent to the status of "law."