[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5279 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5279

   To require the Bureau of Prisons to submit to Congress an annual 
       summary report of disaster damage, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 25, 2023

    Mr. Lieu (for himself, Ms. Mace, and Ms. Norton) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Bureau of Prisons to submit to Congress an annual 
       summary report of disaster damage, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Correctional Facility Disaster 
Preparedness Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the term ``major disaster'' means--
            (1) a major disaster declared by the President under 
        section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
        Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); or
            (2) any natural disaster or extreme weather or public 
        health emergency event that--
                    (A) causes physical damage to the facility or 
                disrupts services under paragraph (2), (4), (5), or (6) 
                of section 3(a); and
                    (B) the Bureau of Prisons determines is a major 
                disaster.

SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT OF DISASTER DAMAGE.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall submit 
to the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate and the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on the 
Judiciary, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives, the Government Accountability Office, and the Office 
of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice an annual summary 
report of disaster damage on the scope of physical damage from a major 
disaster by each Bureau of Prisons facility and its contract prisons 
impacted or struck by a major disaster that explains the effects of the 
damage on inmates and staff, including--
            (1) data on injury and loss of life of inmates and staff;
            (2) access to health and medical care, food, special 
        dietary needs, drinkable water, personal protective equipment, 
        and personal hygiene products;
            (3) guidance used to adjudicate early release or home 
        confinement requests, data on early release or home confinement 
        approvals, denials, and justification for denials;
            (4) an explanation as to whether using home confinement or 
        early release was considered;
            (5) access to cost-free and uninterrupted visitation with 
        legal counsel and visitors with justifications for facility 
        decisions that resulted in suspended or altered visitations;
            (6) access to appropriate accommodations for inmates with 
        disabilities;
            (7) access to educational and work programs;
            (8) inmate grievances;
            (9) assessment of the cost of the damage to the facility 
        and estimates for repairs;
            (10) the impact on staffing, equipment, and financial 
        resources; and
            (11) other factors relating to the ability of the Bureau of 
        Prisons and any existing contract prison to uphold the health, 
        safety, and civil rights of the correctional population.
    (b) Corrective Action Plan.--The report required under subsection 
(a) shall include agency corrective actions that the Bureau of Prisons 
will take to improve and modernize emergency preparedness plans, as 
they relate to natural disasters, extreme weather, and public health 
emergencies and a timeline to implement the corrective action plan.
    (c) Recommendations.--The report required under subsection (a) 
shall include specific legislative recommendations to Congress for 
improving emergency preparedness plans within the Bureau of Prisons.
    (d) Appointment.--Not later than 90 days after the enactment of 
this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall appoint an 
official of the Bureau of Prisons responsible for carrying out the 
corrective action plan.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS.

    Section 4351 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``ten'' and inserting ``14''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) One shall have served a sentence in either a Federal 
        or State correctional facility or have a professional 
        background advocating on the behalf of formerly incarcerated or 
        incarcerated individuals.
            ``(4) One shall have a background as an emergency response 
        coordinator that has created an emergency management 
        accreditation program.
            ``(5) One shall have an educational and professional 
        background in public health working with communicable diseases.
            ``(6) One shall represent the labor union that represents 
        Bureau of Prisons employees.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Field Hearing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, the National Institute of Corrections 
shall conduct at least one public field hearing on how correctional 
facilities can incorporate in their emergency preparedness plans and 
recovery efforts--
            ``(1) inmate access to medical care, food, drinkable water, 
        personal protective equipment, and personal hygiene products;
            ``(2) consideration by staff of using home confinement or 
        early release;
            ``(3) inmate access to cost-free and uninterrupted 
        visitation with legal counsel and visitors with clear standards 
        for when facilities may suspend or alter visitations;
            ``(4) inmate access to appropriate accommodations for 
        inmates with disabilities;
            ``(5) use of Federal funding to restore disaster-damaged 
        correctional facilities; and
            ``(6) incorporation by staff of risk management best 
        practices, such as those made available under the relevant 
        agencies of the Federal Emergency Management Administration, 
        Department of Health and Human Services, and the Government 
        Accountability Office to enhance emergency preparedness 
        plans.''.
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