[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 152 (Thursday, November 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CORRECTION OFFICERS HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT OF 1998

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                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 12, 1998

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, it is only fitting that on the final day of 
the 105th Congress, the final bill to be considered is Solomon-authored 
legislation. H.R. 2070, the Correction Officers Health and Safety Act 
of 1998, as amended, passed the House of Representatives on October 21. 
This legislation is absolutely vital to protect our nation's correction 
officers from vicious attacks by prison inmates.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2070 grants the Attorney General authority to test 
high-risk, incoming federal inmates for the presence of the human 
immunodeficiency virus. It also allows the testing of prisoners who may 
have intentionally or unintentionally transmitted the virus to any 
officer or employee of the United States, or to any person lawfully 
present in a correctional facility who is not incarcerated there. The 
results of any test are communicated only to the inmate tested and 
those whose blood came into contact with the inmate. Furthermore, the 
bill authorizes the Attorney General to provide the appropriate access 
to counseling, health care, and support services to the affected 
officer, employee, or other person, and to the person tested.
  This bill could not have passed without the strong support of Council 
82, the correction officers union in New York, AFSCME, and the Law 
Enforcement Alliance of America. Also, Senator Orrin Hatch was 
instrumental in pushing this legislation through the Senate.

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