Bill to establish oversight of Federal Prison System passes senate

The bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act, unanimously passed the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, July 10. The bill, led by U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., establishes new, independent oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Now that the legislation has passed both the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, it will head to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

The legislation will require the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) inspector general (IG) to conduct comprehensive, risk-based inspections of the BOP’s 122 correctional facilities, provide recommendations to fix problems, and assign each facility a risk score, with higher-risk facilities required to be inspected more often. The IG must also report its findings and recommendations to Congress and the public, and the BOP must respond to all inspection reports within 60 days with a corrective action plan.

Additionally, the bill will establish an independent ombudsman to investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of incarcerated people and staff. The Ombudsman would also create a secure hotline and online form for family members, friends, and representatives of incarcerated people to submit complaints and inquiries.