[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 40 (Monday, March 7, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE RETURNING CITIZENS 
                            COORDINATION ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 7, 2022

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to introduce the District of 
Columbia Code Returning Citizens Coordination Act. This bill would 
require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide information to 
the District of Columbia government on individuals convicted of D.C. 
Code felonies under BOP jurisdiction to help ensure the District has 
services ready when such individuals return home.
  Individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies face significant hurdles 
in preparing to return to society because most are in BOP facilities 
hundreds or even thousands of miles from the District, their families 
and their loved ones. Because they are frequently housed so far away 
from the District, coordinating returning citizens' reentry into 
society is difficult.
  Under this bill, the District government would know the health and 
other needs of individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies before they 
are released from BOP custody. Individuals convicted of D.C. Code 
felonies are the only individuals required to be housed by BOP for 
violations of non-federal laws.
  Currently, under federal privacy laws, BOP is allowed to share 
information on individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies with the 
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of 
Columbia (CSOSA), since CSOSA is also a federal agency, but not with 
the D.C. government. This bill would require BOP to treat the D.C. 
government as they do other federal agencies for the purposes of--but 
only for the purposes of--federal privacy laws, such as the Privacy 
Act, so that the District government can obtain the necessary 
information to provide appropriate services to returning citizens.
  Specifically, the bill would require BOP, on an annual basis, to 
provide the District government the following information on 
individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies under BOP jurisdiction: the 
name, date of birth and Federal Register number, the facility where 
housed and the scheduled release date. In addition, upon the request of 
the D.C. government, BOP would have to provide the D.C. government with 
the same information it provides CSOSA on such individuals.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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