[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 79 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3940-H3942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




LIEUTENANT OSVALDO ALBARATI CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SELF-PROTECTION ACT OF 
                                  2017

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 613) to amend title 18, United States Code, to require that 
the Director of the Bureau of Prisons ensure that each chief executive 
officer of a Federal penal or correctional institution provides a 
secure storage area located outside of the secure perimeter of the 
Federal penal or correctional institution for firearms carried by 
certain employees of the Bureau of Prisons, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 613

       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 ``Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati 
     Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 (Public 
     Law 108-277; 118 Stat. 865) gives certain law enforcement 
     officers, including certain correctional officers of the 
     Bureau of Prisons, the right to carry a concealed firearm in 
     all 50 States for self-protection;
       (2) the purpose of that Act is to allow certain law 
     enforcement officers to protect themselves while off duty;
       (3) correctional officers of the Bureau of Prisons have 
     been the targets of assaults and murders while off duty; and
       (4) while that Act allows certain law enforcement officers 
     to protect themselves off duty, the Director of the Bureau of 
     Prisons allows correctional officers of the Bureau of Prisons 
     to securely store personal firearms at only 31 Federal penal 
     and correctional institutions while at work.

     SEC. 3. SECURE FIREARMS STORAGE.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 303 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 4050. Secure firearms storage

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) the term `employee' means a qualified law enforcement 
     officer employed by the Bureau of Prisons; and
       ``(2) the terms `firearm' and `qualified law enforcement 
     officer' have the meanings given those terms under section 
     926B.
       ``(b) Secure Firearms Storage.--The Director of the Bureau 
     of Prisons shall ensure that each chief executive officer of 
     a Federal penal or correctional institution--
       ``(1)(A) provides a secure storage area located outside of 
     the secure perimeter of the institution for employees to 
     store firearms; or
       ``(B) allows employees to store firearms in a vehicle 
     lockbox approved by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons; 
     and
       ``(2) notwithstanding any other provision of law (including 
     regulations), allows employees to carry concealed firearms on 
     the premises outside of the secure perimeter of the 
     institution.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``4050. Secure firearms storage.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 613, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in 2004 Congress passed and President Bush signed into 
law the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, LEOSA. LEOSA allows 
certain law enforcement officers, including correctional officers of 
the Bureau of Prisons, the right to carry a concealed firearm 
throughout the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and all other U.S. territories for self-
defense and the defense of others. LEOSA also allows law enforcement 
officers to carry their firearms while off duty.
  These laws help keep citizens safe, but there is still room for 
improvement. For example, the Bureau of Prisons does not permit its 
correctional officers to safely store their personal firearms in a 
secure locker at its facilities, and employees are otherwise prohibited 
from storing them in their personal vehicles while parked on Bureau of 
Prisons property. This leaves correctional workers vulnerable to attack 
during their commutes to and from work.
  Sadly, an attack on a correctional officer while commuting to or from 
a prison is not a hypothetical situation. On the evening of February 
26, 2013, Bureau of Prisons Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati was ambushed 
and murdered while on his way home from work.
  According to court documents, the shooting was a hit ordered by 
Federal inmates housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Guaynabo, 
Puerto Rico. Authorities believe that Lieutenant Albarati's murder was 
a direct result of his work at the prison; specifically, in retaliation 
for his investigations into cell phone smuggling at the MDC and the 
seizure of contraband.
  Lieutenant Albarati was ambushed during his drive home, shot 16 
times, and died at the scene. He was 39 years old.
  On January 28, 2015, a Federal grand jury in the District of Puerto 
Rico returned a six-count indictment charging nine individuals for the 
murder of Lieutenant Albarati. In January of 2016, Federal prosecutors 
notified the district court of their intention to seek the death 
penalty. Trial preparation is ongoing in that case.
  Mr. Speaker, Lieutenant Albarati's family has yet to receive justice 
for this senseless, despicable act, but we, as a legislative body, can 
do our best to ensure this never happens again. To that end, H.R. 613 
makes a commonsense amendment to Federal law to address the problem 
highlighted by this tragedy.
  This bipartisan bill, cosponsored by 54 of our colleagues, would 
direct the Bureau of Prisons to provide a secure storage area located 
outside the secure perimeter of each Bureau of Prisons facility where 
correctional officers will be able to store their personal firearms and 
allow employees to store firearms

[[Page H3941]]

in a vehicle lockbox approved by the Bureau of Prisons.
  This is important, reasonable legislation. With its passage, the 
House honors the life of a brave man who served his community 
faithfully and one day made the ultimate sacrifice.
  I want to thank the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley) for 
introducing this legislation. I also want to thank Lieutenant 
Albarati's widow, Helen, who is here with us today in the gallery, for 
her tireless efforts to ensure her husband's death was not in vain.
  We salute you and we thank you.
  Mr. Speaker, as we begin the 2018 Police Week, I urge my colleagues 
to support this bill. Let us do our best to protect those who protect 
us.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
referring to occupants in the gallery.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 613, the Lieutenant Osvaldo 
Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2017. I support 
this bipartisan and commonsense bill to facilitate the ability of 
Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officers to carry personal 
firearms for protection as they commute to and from their jobs.
  This bill would allow the Bureau's correctional officers to protect 
themselves without jeopardizing the safety and the security of the 
facilities in which they work.
  Currently, Bureau of Prisons correctional officers are authorized to 
carry concealed firearms for self-protection while off duty under the 
Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, and this bill doesn't alter that 
existing privilege.
  Instead, because there is no mechanism today to allow these 
correctional officers to store firearms that they might carry during 
their commutes to and from work, they are precluded from bringing their 
personal firearms onto the premises of these facilities and are 
therefore, in effect, precluded from carrying firearms for personal 
protection as they travel to and from the workplace.
  To address this problem, H.R. 613 requires the Bureau of Prisons to 
allow properly qualified correctional officers to bring their firearms 
onto the premises of Bureau facilities in a manner that minimizes 
possible security and safety risks.

                              {time}  1600

  The Bureau would be required to either provide correctional officers 
with a secure storage area for their firearms located outside the 
secure perimeter of the prison or allow the officers to store their 
firearms in vehicle lockboxes approved by the Bureau.
  Without question, correctional officers perform an essential and, 
indeed, an indispensable function within our criminal justice system, 
and we depend on them to keep all of our facilities safe, secure, and 
efficiently run for everyone. For some correctional officers, the 
inability to carry a firearm to and from work could leave them 
vulnerable to someone attempting to do them harm.
  This bill is named, as my distinguished colleague from Virginia said, 
in honor of Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati, a Bureau officer who was 
ambushed and murdered as he drove home from his job at a Bureau 
detention center. Lieutenant Albarati was specifically targeted for the 
work he was doing at the institution.
  We hope this legislation will prevent any future lethal attack on our 
officers. Accordingly, I would commend Mr. Goodlatte and others, the 
sponsor of the bill, for bringing this important measure forward, and I 
encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley), the chief sponsor of 
this legislation.
  Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 613, the 
Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act, 
and urge its immediate passage.
  Mr. Speaker, every year when we are back in the district I conduct 
over 300 meetings with constituents to understand some of the issues 
they are facing. That might be from senior citizens, to nurses, to 
school teachers, to correctional officers. We do this on an annual 
basis to listen and learn and bring back their concerns, what is 
affecting them, back to Washington, so we can work on legislation.
  These meetings shape a large portion of the legislation our office 
works on. When student veterans in our district told us they were 
having problems using their GI Bill benefits to pay for their degrees, 
we came back and passed legislation to address that issue.
  When the story of correctional officer Eric Williams' brutal murder 
was brought to our attention, we developed and passed legislation 
allowing officers to carry pepper spray, simple pepper spray, at all 
times. Now, when that was adopted, that might have prevented his death 
by inmates who took his life.
  Now, correctional officers in our district have brought us other 
concerns about being targeted when they finish their shift and leave 
prison for the day. We heard the story about how Lieutenant Albarati 
was targeted and brutally murdered on his way home from work at the 
Metropolitan Detention Center in Puerto Rico.
  All this was in retaliation for his investigation into a cellphone 
smuggling ring that was occurring in the prison. He was targeted, shot, 
chased, and killed after leaving work that day.
  Correctional officers often find themselves as targets, we are 
hearing, for retaliatory attacks for what they have done at work. 
Unfortunately, Bureau of Prison policy prohibits officers from carrying 
or storing their personal firearms at the Federal facility where they 
work or anywhere on the grounds.
  This bill requires that every Federal facility have a safe and secure 
area in which officers can store their personal firearms during their 
shift. With passage of this bill, we will provide them with one more 
tool to ensure they make it home safely to their families every day, 
giving them the peace of mind that they can perform their duties and 
not worry about the aftermath.
  Look, our Nation's prison guards are often taken for granted. They 
are the forgotten men and women of America who face evil, and I mean 
that in the strongest way. They face evil every day to keep our 
communities safe.
  Today, we have the opportunity to honor Lieutenant Albarati for his 
service and weep with his widow and his three children for their loss. 
His sacrifice, as the chairman said, must not be in vain. The lessons 
that we have learned can be used to prevent another tragedy like this 
from happening ever again.
  I thank the Judiciary Committee, its chairman, Mr. Goodlatte, and the 
House leadership for bringing H.R. 613 to the floor and urge all my 
colleagues to honor the memory of Lieutenant Albarati by voting ``yes'' 
and sending this bill to the Senate.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, as we recognize our hardworking law 
enforcement officers across America this week and honor those, like 
Lieutenant Albarati, who have given their lives to keep the rest of us 
safe, I am very proud to reiterate my support for the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), the ranking member of the Criminal Justice 
Subcommittee, to control.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from 
Texas will control the time.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, we are just having some discussion 
about the order of bills. Thank you so very much for your indulgence.
  I want to ask if the ranking member has any additional speakers.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, the chairman does not have any additional 
speakers. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  First of all, let me thank Congressman Raskin for the diligent work 
that he has done on the Judiciary Committee, as a whole, but 
particularly his assistance today for those of us who were flying in.
  This is a particularly important bill because I have just had the 
opportunity to visit with corrections officers

[[Page H3942]]

in a correction center in New York. It was both an informational 
opportunity and tour of the facility, but also, it was enormously 
instructive.
  First, I want to honor Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati, correctional 
officer in the Self-Protection Act, and I want to thank the author of 
the legislation. It is clear that this is a very important addition to 
both respecting, and, as well, protecting correctional officers. It is 
a bipartisan, commonsense bill, as has been indicated, and specifically 
provides for Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officers to carry 
personal firearms for protection as they commute to and from their 
jobs.
  Listening to these correctional officers, sitting down with them, you 
know that there is a passion for their work. You also know that they 
want those who are incarcerated to do well, to restore their lives, to 
be rehabilitated.
  So there is a mutual desire for a betterment of society, and I 
believe that this is important in as much as the story of Lieutenant 
Albarati is a sad one, for he was ambushed and murdered as he drove 
home from his job at a Bureau detention center, and he was specifically 
targeted for the work he did at the institution.
  So this is an important way of honoring him, but also recognizing, 
which we often don't take note in this week of saluting our law 
enforcement officers. Sometimes we do not acknowledge the correctional 
officers all throughout the Nation, and as well, those who are in State 
and local government. I want to acknowledge them today as part of law 
enforcement and to indicate that this is an important component to 
making sure they are safe and that they go home safely to their 
families.
  I do want to say that I appreciate those correctional officers that 
met with me to discuss how to improve the correctional institution, the 
need for staffing, and the commitment that we will work together, 
getting information from them, and as well, providing the resources 
that they need.
  Let me make this final point: that our correctional officers are in 
all jurisdictions. Some are in urban centers, some in rural areas. And 
so this legislation, obviously, will be guided by the appropriate laws 
that deal with the carrying of weapons in their jurisdiction. But the 
important point is that we provide them with a place to store those 
weapons so that they are safe within the laws of their particular area 
going to and fro. I think that is the least we can do.
  And I rise to support this legislation and to indicate that there are 
those of us who believe in real gun safety legislation, with no 
undermining of the Second Amendment, that can clearly see the 
correctness, if you will, and the rightness, if you will, of a 
commonsense approach to protecting individuals who are set to protect 
us or to do a law enforcement position.
  And for that reason, let me thank the author of the legislation, let 
me salute law enforcement officers this week, and take note of saluting 
the late Lieutenant Albarati, and all of those correctional officers, 
and ask our colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 613, the ``Lieutenant Osvaldo 
Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2017.''
  I support this bipartisan, commonsense bill, which will facilitate 
the ability of Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officers to carry 
personal firearms for protection as they commute to and from their 
jobs.
  H.R. 613 would allow the Bureau's correctional officers to protect 
themselves, if necessary, without jeopardizing the safety and security 
of the facilities in which they work.
  Currently, Bureau of Prisons correctional officers are authorized to 
carry concealed firearms for self-protection while off duty under the 
Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act. This bill would not alter this 
existing privilege.
  Instead, because there currently is no mechanism to allow these 
correctional officers to store firearms they might carry during their 
commutes to and from Bureau of Prison facilities, they are precluded 
from bringing their personal firearms onto the premises of these 
facilities and are, in effect, thereby precluded from carrying firearms 
for personal protection as they travel to and from work.
  To address this issue, H.R. 613 would require the Bureau of Prisons 
to allow properly qualified correctional officers to bring personal 
firearms onto the premises of Bureau facilities in a manner that 
minimizes any possible security or safety risks.
  The Bureau would be required to either provide correctional officers 
with a secure storage area for their firearms--located outside the 
secure perimeter--or allow the officers to store their firearms in 
vehicle lockboxes approved by the Bureau.
  Without question, correctional officers perform an essential function 
within our criminal justice system. And, we depend on them to ensure 
Bureau facilities are safe, secure, and managed efficiently.
  For some correctional officers, the inability to carry a firearm to 
and from work could leave them vulnerable to those who might seek to do 
them harm.
  In fact, this bill is named in honor of Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati, 
a Bureau officer who was ambushed and murdered as he drove home from 
his job at a Bureau detention center. Lieutenant Albarati was 
specifically targeted for the work he did at the institution. So in 
honor of him and all other officers, this legislation is put forth, 
which will help prevent future lethal attacks on these officers.
  Accordingly, I commend my colleagues and others for bringing this 
important measure forward and encourage my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield 
myself the remainder of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is very fitting, as we begin Police Week, 
that we pass this important piece of legislation that makes it very 
clear that our sworn officers, who keep people safe but risk their own 
lives and work in our Bureau of Prisons, have the opportunity to have a 
firearm when they are traveling to and from work.
  It is not practical the way the current rules work. This law is 
vitally needed to help save lives. I know that Mrs. Albarati is here to 
see that that happens, and I commend her. I admire her courage, and we 
should not allow her husband's life to be lost in vain. Let's pass this 
legislation and make sure it doesn't happen to others in the future. I 
urge my colleagues to vote for the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Curtis). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 613.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________