Delancy

Federal prisoner Ned Delaney appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Delaney is serving a 48 to 60 month term for violating the conditions of his special parole. He contends that the Bureau of Prisons and the Parole Commission wrongfully denied him a reduction in his sentence for completing a 500-hour residential drug arid alcohol program under 18 U.S.C. § 3621 (e)(2)(B) (“the incentive provision”). The principal issue raised in Delaney’s appeal is whether the incentive provision applies to prisoners sentenced before the *782 Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 came into effect.

We have jurisdiction of Delaney’s timely appeal under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253; and we affirm.

I. Background

A. Delaney’s Criminal History

Ned Delaney was convicted in 1985 of possessing cocaine base with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a). He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and a lifetime term of special parole. Delaney was paroled in 1990. The Parole Commission (“the Commission”) revoked his parole on January 4, 1994, after determining that he had committed two cocaine distribution offenses, left the district without permission,…