[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 68 (Thursday, April 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2887-S2888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

   SENATE RESOLUTION 648--PROCLAIMING A DECLARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL 
                     RIGHTS FOR INCARCERATED PEOPLE

  Mr. MARKEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.:

                              S. Res. 648

       Whereas criminal legal systems in the United States are 
     sustaining an incarceration crisis that has put millions of 
     people behind bars, torn families apart, destabilized 
     communities, and allowed others to profit from the 
     mistreatment of human beings;
       Whereas, in the United States, almost 2,000,000 people are 
     incarcerated in Federal, State, local, and Tribal prisons and 
     jails, immigration detention facilities, juvenile secure 
     facilities, and treatment and rehabilitation facilities;
       Whereas the duration of prison sentences is trending 
     upwards and nearly 57 percent of the Federal and State prison 
     population is now serving a sentence of 10 years or more;
       Whereas every year of incarceration in a prison or jail for 
     a person is associated with a 2-year reduction in average 
     life expectancy;
       Whereas people incarcerated in prisons and jails are more 
     likely than the general public to have at least 1 preexisting 
     physical or mental health condition or disability, which 
     makes incarcerated people more susceptible to environmental 
     health threats;
       Whereas incarceration and systemic patterns of 
     environmental justice violations in the permitting and siting 
     of carceral facilities has greatly increased the exposure of 
     incarcerated people, carceral facility staff, and communities 
     surrounding carceral facilities to toxic and dangerous 
     conditions;
       Whereas toxic environments in and around carceral 
     facilities harm the physical, mental, and social well-being 
     of those impacted by incarceration;
       Whereas exposure to environmental hazards harms the 
     vitality of incarcerated communities by reducing the 
     availability of programming in carceral facilities;
       Whereas the adverse environmental health impacts of 
     incarceration disproportionately harm Black people and other 
     minorities in the United States, including Indigenous, 
     Latino, and LGBTQ+ people, who are more likely to be 
     incarcerated in the United States;
       Whereas pregnant, post-natal, and breastfeeding people are 
     at higher risk of adverse health outcomes from exposure to 
     environmental stressors in carceral facilities, yet those 
     people often lack proper medical care or options to minimize 
     exposure to environmental health threats;
       Whereas privatized healthcare providers profit from the 
     poisoning of incarcerated populations and often provide 
     incarcerated people with inadequate care;
       Whereas nearly 33 percent of Federal and State prisons are 
     located within 3 miles of a federally declared toxic 
     superfund site, which are disproportionately located in or 
     near low-income communities and communities of color;
       Whereas people incarcerated in prisons and jails often 
     perform extremely hazardous labor, including electronic waste 
     recycling, forest firefighting, and asbestos removal, without 
     sufficient protection and for meager or no compensation, with 
     the average hourly wage for incarcerated workers being as low 
     as $0.14 and some incarcerated workers earning no wages at 
     all;
       Whereas measurements of heat indices inside prison cells 
     have ranged from below freezing to in excess of 150 degrees 
     Fahrenheit;
       Whereas incarcerated people often drink and bathe in water 
     contaminated with lead, arsenic, manganese, harmful bacteria, 
     and other hazardous substances and do not have the same 
     access to safer alternatives as non-incarcerated people;
       Whereas poor ventilation in carceral facilities contributes 
     to hazardous air quality,

[[Page S2888]]

     which in turn leads to psychological distress, cognitive 
     impairment, and the proliferation of infectious respiratory 
     diseases, allergens, and other respiratory issues;
       Whereas incarcerated people are commonly confined to spaces 
     where they are exposed to mold, asbestos, and pests;
       Whereas the diets of incarcerated people are regularly 
     below standards requisite for good health;
       Whereas food safety standards and preparation guidelines 
     are not uniformly enforced and followed in carceral 
     facilities;
       Whereas the constant noise and artificial light that is 
     common in prison environments can act as a form of torture 
     that induces progressively severe mental stress and anxiety;
       Whereas incarcerated people with little or no access to 
     natural light are more likely to be depressed and engage in 
     harmful behavior that can extend the duration of their 
     incarceration;
       Whereas conditions of incarceration should be conducive to 
     rehabilitation;
       Whereas the cumulative and chronic health impacts of 
     incarceration can transform short sentences into long-term or 
     lifelong punishment; and
       Whereas many incarcerated people endure conditions that are 
     cruel, inhumane, unsafe, and not conducive to rehabilitative 
     justice: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) declares that incarcerated people have the right to 
     healthy and safe environments, and the right to advocate for 
     protecting and improving their environmental health; and
       (2) proclaims this Declaration of Environmental Rights for 
     Incarcerated People, founded on the principles that--
       (A) incarcerated people have inherent dignity and 
     personhood;
       (B) the right to humane treatment is inviolable and without 
     distinction of any kind, including the nature of a crime 
     committed;
       (C) incarcerated people have the right to a healthy 
     environment;
       (D) environmental standards in carceral facilities should 
     protect the health of the most vulnerable people with an 
     adequate margin of safety;
       (E) disregard and contempt for the environmental health of 
     incarcerated people undermines the pursuit of justice;
       (F) the right of incarcerated people to a healthy 
     environment should be universally recognized and protected by 
     law;
       (G) legal remedies for inhumane conditions should be 
     universally available to incarcerated people and their 
     advocates, without hindrance or delay, in courts of law;
       (H) incarcerated people have the right to, and should be 
     proactively supplied with, information and education 
     regarding exposure pathways to environmental hazards in the 
     facilities in which they are incarcerated;
       (I) incarcerated people have the right to discuss the 
     environmental health conditions of carceral facilities among 
     themselves;
       (J) incarcerated people have the right to advocate, without 
     fear or threat of retaliation, to protect and improve their 
     environmental health;
       (K) incarcerated people have the right to refuse to work or 
     labor in unsafe or hazardous conditions, and have the right 
     to receive alternative work opportunities, without threat of 
     retaliation or impact on release decisions; and
       (L) decarceration should serve as a principal strategy to 
     reduce the environmental health harms of criminal legal 
     systems; and
       (3) supports efforts to enact legislation guided by the 
     principles described in paragraph (2).

                          ____________________