CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Bills and resolutions

Bureau of Prisons: issue oleoresin capsicum spray (pepper spray) to officers and employees in Federal medium-security prisons and higher (see S. 238), S420 [22JA] (see H.R. 472), H530 [22JA]

——— provide certain voting information to Federal prisoners upon their release from prison (see H.R. 871), H980 [11FE]

——— provide for an effective HIV/AIDS program in Federal prisons (see H.R. 768), H853 [5FE]

——— provide secure storage areas on institution grounds outside the secure perimeter for employees authorized to carry firearms (see S. 368), S772 [4FE] (see H.R. 1545), H1848 [23MR] (see H.R. 1592), H1900 [24MR]

——— rename as the Bureau of Corrections (see H.R. 760), H853 [5FE]

——— require the Director to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate (see S. 1784), S5170 [16JY]

——— restore former system of good time allowances toward service of Federal prison terms and allow reduction of sentences for certain employment opportunities (see H.R. 3333), H5764 [29JY]

Census: provide that individuals in prison shall, for the purposes of a decennial census, be attributed to the last place of residence before incarceration (see H.R. 3838), H7253 [27OC]

Children and youth: eliminate the use of restraints on pregnant juveniles in State correction facilities (see S. 1851), S5526 [23JY]

——— eliminate the use of valid court orders to secure lockup for status offenses which would not be judicial issues if the offender were not a juvenile (see S. 1850), S5526 [23JY] (see H.R. 3782), H7088 [21OC]

——— ensure juveniles adjudicated in Federal delinquency proceedings are not subject to solitary confinement while committed to juvenile facilities (see S. 1965), S6380 [5AU] (see H.R. 2823), H4541 [18JN]

——— express need to eliminate life without parole for children (see H. Res. 382), H5523 [27JY]

Courts: allow judges greater discretion in sentencing decisions in Federal cases involving mandatory minimum sentences (see S. 353), S736 [3FE] (see H.R. 706), H810 [4FE]

——— eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for all drug offenses (see H.R. 3489), H5942 [10SE] (see H.R. 3530), H6075 [16SE]

Crime: improve Federal sentencing and corrections system by reducing crime, curtailing over-criminalization, concentrating prison space on violent and career criminals, and reducing recidivism (see H.R. 2944), H4771 [25JN]

——— provide an alternate release date for certain nonviolent offenders and amend computation of the good time credit toward service of sentences of imprisonment (see H.R. 3354), H5765 [29JY]

——— reduce recidivism and increase public safety (see S. 449, 467), S926 [11FE]

——— reform and establish mandatory minimum sentences for certain offenses to provide more flexibility and reduce recidivism among Federal inmates (see S. 2123), S7102 [1OC]

——— seal or expunge nonviolent criminal records, reform treatment of juveniles in the justice system, and lift ban on certain Federal benefits for low-level drug offenders (see S. 675), S1335 [9MR] (see H.R. 1672), H2108 [26MR]

Dept. of Defense: express that Federal law prohibits the transfer of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the U.S. (see H. Res. 537), H8412 [19NO]

——— maintain a registry of sexual offenders, require such offenders to register before release from military prisons, ensure civilian law enforcement and the public has access to the registry (see H.R. 956), H1035 [12FE]

Dept. of Education: prohibit awarding of Federal Pell Grants to incarcerated individuals (see H.R. 3327), H5764 [29JY]

——— reinstate Federal Pell Grant Program eligibility for individuals incarcerated in Federal and State penal institutions (see H.R. 2521), H3559 [21MY]

Dept. of HHS: include county and municipal correctional facilities among medical facilities that qualify for designation as health professional shortage areas for purposes of the National Health Service Corps (see S. 1051), S2352 [22AP]

Dept. of Justice: develop and implement national standards for the use of solitary confinement in correctional facilities (see H.R. 3399), H5767 [29JY]

——— prevent certain monitoring and interception by Federal authorities of Federal prisoner communications that are subject to attorney-client privilege (see H.R. 3864), H7346 [29OC]

——— reauthorize the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (see H.R. 2964), H4954 [8JY]

Drugs: focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders by modifying sentencing guidelines for certain drug offenses (see S. 502), S983 [12FE]

FCC: prescribe rules regulating inmate telephone and video service rates (see H.R. 3638), H6704 [29SE]

Federal Prison Industries, Inc.: require competition for contracts, provide an adjustment period to phasing out mandatory source status, and improve inmate access to reintegration opportunities (see H.R. 1699), H2109 [26MR]

Golden Venture (vessel): adjust status of certain aliens who were aboard the immigrant-smuggling ship (see H.R. 859), H917 [10FE]

Government: prohibit agencies and contractors from requesting criminal history information from employment applicants until conditional offer stage and report on employment statistics of formerly incarcerated individuals (see S. 2021), S6604 [10SE] (see H.R. 3470), H5941 [10SE]

Immigration: detain any unlawfully present alien who is arrested for certain criminal offenses (see H.R. 2942), H4771 [25JN]

——— detain any unlawfully present alien who is arrested for certain criminal offenses, expedite the removal of such aliens, and report on number of criminal alien arrests, convictions, and removals (see S. 1752), S5008 [13JY] (see S. 1843), S5455 [22JY]

——— enhance Federal, State, and local assistance in enforcement of immigration laws (see H.R. 2964), H4954 [8JY]

——— establish legal orientation programs at immigration detention facilities to inform detainees of their legal rights (see H.R. 3343), H5765 [29JY]

——— extend detention of certain aliens ordered removed (see S. 291), S590 [28JA]

——— reauthorize the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (see S. 2395), S8602 [10DE]

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act: reauthorize and improve (see S. 1169), S2568 [30AP] (see H.R. 2728), H4241 [11JN]

Law enforcement: eliminate private prisons, reinstate Federal parole system, increase oversight of companies providing inmate services, and end detention quotas and improve monitoring relative to immigrants (see S. 2054), S6809 [17SE] (see H.R. 3543), H6136 [17SE]

——— improve effectiveness and efficiency of Federal prison system with offender risk and needs assessment, individual risk reduction incentives and rewards, and risk and recidivism reduction (see H.R. 759), H853 [5FE]

——— provide alternatives to incarceration for youth (see H.R. 3158), H5402 [22JY]

——— provide for the humane treatment of youths in police custody (see H.R. 3155), H5402 [22JY]

——— require facilities holding Federal prisoners under a contract with the Federal Government to make available the same information as Federal facilities on facility operations and prisoners (see H.R. 2470), H3505 [20MY]

——— strengthen mental health system, improve public safety, and reauthorize and improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (see S. 2002), S6381 [5AU] (see H.R. 3722), H6935 [8OC]

Law enforcement officers: support (see H. Res. 266), H3252 [15MY]

Medicaid: allow for payments to States for substance abuse services furnished to inmates in public institutions (see H.R. 4076), H8360 [18NO]

——— require States to suspend, rather than terminate, an individual’s eligibility for medical assistance while such individual is an inmate of a public institution (see S. 1409), S3237 [21MY]

Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act: reauthorize and improve (see H.R. 731), H811 [4FE]

National Criminal Justice Commission: establish (see S. 1119), S2473 [28AP] (see H.R. 2330), H3211 [14MY]

Second Chance Act: reauthorize (see S. 1513), S3776 [4JN] (see H.R. 3406), H5767 [29JY]

Sentencing: clarify policy relative to good time credit toward service of sentences of imprisonment (see H.R. 1253), H1609 [4MR]

Social Security: ensure prompt access to SSI, disability, and Medicaid benefits for persons released from certain public institutions (see H.R. 2806), H4491 [17JN]

——— remove limitations on Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, and State Children’s Health Insurance Program benefits for inmates in custody pending disposition of charges (see H.R. 4201), H9205 [9DE]

States: provide alternate release date for certain nonviolent offenders (see H.R. 71), H38 [6JA]

Taxation: provide an exemption from tax on early distributions for certain Bureau of Prisons correctional officers who retire before age 55 (see S. 380), S832 [5FE]

——— provide tax benefits to individuals who have been wrongfully incarcerated (see H.R. 3086), H5289 [16JY]

Unemployment: prevent payment of benefits to incarcerated individuals (see H.R. 2503), H3558 [21MY]

Volunteer workers: require screening of volunteers at Federal prisons for terrorist links (see H.R. 4285), H9690 [17DE]

Voting: secure Federal voting rights of nonviolent persons when released from incarceration (see S. 457), S926 [11FE] (see S. 772), S1628 [18MR] (see H.R. 1459), H1801 [19MR] (see H.R. 1556), H1848 [23MR]

Letters

FCC rules regulating inmate telephone and video service rates: several Representatives, E1502 [21OC]

Remarks in House

African Americans: impact of high levels of incarceration and homicide rates of young African-American males on families and communities, H4364–H4370 [15JN]

——— reform of criminal justice system relative to incarceration of African-American men, H8438, H8442 [30NO]

Children and youth: eliminate the use of valid court orders to secure lockup for status offenses which would not be judicial issues if the offender were not a juvenile (H.R. 3782), H7169 [23OC]

——— seal or expunge nonviolent criminal records, reform treatment of juveniles in the justice system, and lift ban on certain Federal benefits for low-level drug offenders (S. 675), H3299 [18MY], E529 [20AP]

Dept. of Defense: allow funding for transfer of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the individual’s country of origin or to any foreign country, H4088 [10JN]

——— allow funding to transfer individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. facilities, H4087 [10JN]

——— impact of transfer of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. prisons, H4086 [10JN]

——— prohibit funding for transfer of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Yemen, H3165, H3166 [14MY]

——— prohibit funding to construct or expand facilities in the U.S. to house any individual detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, H2604, H2605 [29AP]

——— prohibit funding to transfer individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. facilities, H7131, H7133 [22OC]

——— proposal to transfer individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Colorado prisons, H6898 [8OC]

Dept. of Education: reinstate Federal Pell Grant Program eligibility for individuals incarcerated in Federal and State penal institutions (H.R. 2521), E776 [21MY]

Dept. of Justice: allow funding to construct or expand facilities in the U.S. to house any individual detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, H3718–H3720 [2JN]

——— allow funding to transfer individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. facilities, H3717, H3718 [2JN]

——— call for investigation into death of Sandra Bland, H5338 [22JY], H5603 [29JY]

——— Federal Prisoner Detention Program funding, H3674, H3675 [2JN]

——— Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention funding, H3729 [2JN]

——— prohibit funding for monitoring or review of electronic communications between immate and attorney or attorney’s agent, H3808, H3809 [3JN]

——— prohibit funding to transfer or detail employees to the Office of the Pardon Attorney to process clemency applications, H3753, H3754 [2JN]

——— reauthorize the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (H.R. 2964), H4965 [9JY], H5179 [15JY]

Domestic policy: address systemic inequalities that contribute to social and economic disparities for African Americans, E951 [23JN]

Drugs: focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders by modifying sentencing guidelines for certain drug offenses (H.R. 920), H3299 [18MY], E529 [20AP]

FCC: prescribe rules regulating inmate telephone and video service rates, E1502 [21OC]

Immigration: enhance Federal, State, and local assistance in enforcement of immigration laws, H5461 [23JY]

——— enhance Federal, State, and local assistance in enforcement of immigration laws (H.R. 2964), H4965 [9JY], H5179 [15JY]

——— establish mandatory minimum prison sentence for illegal immigrants who return to the U.S. after deportation, H5153 [14JY]

Intelligence services: allow funding to transfer or release individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to other countries or to bring individuals not cleared for release to the U.S. to be charged, tried, and sentenced, H4408, H4409 [16JN]

Kraft-Stolar, Tamar: National Organization for Women-New York City (NOW-NYC) Susan B. Anthony Award recipient, E1571 [2NO]

Law enforcement: assessment of criminal justice system relative to disparate treatment of African Americans and incarceration levels, H1517 [2MR], H7380 [2NO]

——— provide alternatives to incarceration for youth (H.R. 3158), H8443 [30NO]

——— provide for the humane treatment of youths in police custody (H.R. 3155), H8443 [30NO]

Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act: funding, H3693, H3694 [2JN]

New York: tribute to 21st Congressional District law enforcement officers who helped find escaped convicts from the Clinton Correctional Facility, H5084 [10JY]

NIST: Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program funding through reductions in Bureau of Prisons building and facilities funding, H3683, H3684 [2JN]

Social Security: remove limitations on Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, and State Children’s Health Insurance Program benefits for inmates in custody pending disposition of charges (H.R. 4201), E1748 [9DE]

States: provide alternate release date for certain nonviolent offenders (H.R. 71), H2492 [28AP]

Voting: secure Federal voting rights of nonviolent persons when released from incarceration (H.R. 1459), H3299 [18MY], E367 [19MR], E529 [20AP]

Remarks in Senate

Bureau of Prisons: issue oleoresin capsicum spray (pepper spray) to officers and employees in Federal medium-security prisons and higher (S. 238), S8703 [16DE]

Capital punishment: abolish under Federal law, S7621 [29OC]

Children and youth: ensure juveniles adjudicated in Federal delinquency proceedings are not subject to solitary confinement while committed to juvenile facilities (S. 1965), S6387 [5AU]

Crime: reduce recidivism and increase public safety, S7375 [21OC]

——— reduce recidivism and increase public safety (S. 467), S2663 [6MY], S7558 [28OC]

——— reform and establish mandatory minimum sentences for certain offenses to provide more flexibility and reduce recidivism among Federal inmates (S. 2123), S7061, S7104 [1OC], S7253–S7256 [8OC], S7374 [21OC], S8326 [3DE]

——— reform Federal prison system, S882 [10FE]

——— seal or expunge nonviolent criminal records, reform treatment of juveniles in the justice system, and lift ban on certain Federal benefits for low-level drug offenders, S991 [12FE]

Cuba: establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow construction of new facilities and improvements to existing facilities at the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, S2010 [26MR]

Dept. of Defense: impact of transfer of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. prisons, S7902 [10NO], S8113, S8140 [19NO]

Drugs: focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders by modifying sentencing guidelines for certain drug offenses (S. 502), S962, S990–S992 [12FE], S1378–S1380 [10MR], S1576–S1580 [17MR]

Immigration: extend detention of certain aliens ordered removed, S2235 [16AP]

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act: reauthorize and improve (S. 1169), S2578 [30AP]

Law enforcement: assessment of criminal justice system relative to disproportionate incarceration levels of the poor, mentally ill or drug addicted, and minorities, S6878–S6880 [22SE]

——— assessment of criminal justice system relative to disproportionate incareration levels of the poor, mentally ill or drug addicted, and minorities, S991 [12FE]

——— strengthen mental health system, improve public safety, and reauthorize and improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (S. 2002), S7235–S7237 [8OC]

Second Chance Act: reauthorize (S. 1513), S3778 [4JN]

Voting: establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund for a voter reenfranchisement inititative, S1967, S2013 [26MR]

——— secure Federal voting rights of nonviolent persons when released from incarceration (S. 772), S1625 [18MR], S2662 [6MY], S6431 [6AU]

Reports filed

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act Reauthorization and Improvement: Committee on the Judiciary (Senate) (S. 1169) (S. Rept. 114–181), S8684 [15DE]

Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act: Committee on the Judiciary (Senate) (S. 2123), S7491 [26OC]

Texts of

S. 238, Correctional Officer Protection Act, S8703 [16DE]

S. 467, Corrections Oversight, Recidivism Reduction, and Eliminating Costs for Taxpayers in Our National System (CORRECTIONS) Act, S939–S944 [11FE]

S. 1051, National Health Service Corps Expansion Act, S2354 [22AP]

S. 1784, Federal Prisons Accountability Act, S5172 [16JY]

S. 2002, Mental Health and Safe Communities Act, S6392–S6401 [5AU]