[House Report 115-674]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-674
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LIEUTENANT OSVALDO ALBARATI CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SELF-PROTECTION ACT OF
2017
_______
May 15, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Goodlatte, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 613]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred 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, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and
recommend that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 4
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 613 amends 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.
Background and Need for the Legislation
The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act\1\ gives certain
law enforcement officers, including certain correctional
officers of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the right to carry a
concealed firearm in all 50 States for self-protection. While
current law allows law enforcement officers to carry their
firearms in an off-duty status, the BOP does not permit
correctional officers to safely secure their personal firearms
in secured locker space at its institutions. This leaves
correctional workers vulnerable to attack commuting to and from
work because they must leave their firearms at home without a
safe place to store them at correctional institutions.
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\1\Pub. L. No. 108-277 (2004).
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On the evening of February 26, 2013, BOP Lieutenant Osvaldo
Albarati was ambushed and murdered while on his way home from
work. The shooting was carried out with assistance from federal
inmates housed at Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Guaynabo,
Puerto Rico where Lieutenant Albarati worked. 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. Due to
existing BOP policy, Lieutenant Albarati had no firearm
available to protect himself because BOP does not provide safe,
secure gun lockers for staff.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
613.
Committee Consideration
On April 27, 2017, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill, H.R. 613, favorably reported, without
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 613.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to H.R. 613, the following estimate and comparison
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 7, 2017.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 613, the
Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-
Protection Act of 2017.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese,
who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
cc: Honorable John Conyers Jr.
Ranking Member
H.R. 613--Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-
Protection Act of 2017
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on April
27, 2017.
H.R. 613 would require the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to
either provide its law enforcement officers with a secure
storage area outside of federal penal and correctional
institutions to store firearms or permit storage in a BOP-
approved lock box within officers' vehicles. The bill also
would allow BOP officers to carry concealed firearms outside of
the secure perimeter of the institution where they work.
Based on information from the Department of Justice, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 613 would have a negligible
cost because BOP would probably opt to have the officers store
their firearms in a lockbox within their vehicles.
Enacting H.R. 613 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting H.R. 613 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 613 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 613 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
The Committee finds that H.R. 613 contains no directed rule
making within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. Sec. 551.
Performance Goals and Objectives
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee states that H.R. 613
will 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
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 613 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Section 1. Short title. Section 1 sets forth the short
title of the bill as the ``Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati
Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2017.''
Section 2. Findings. Section 2 articulates the
Congressional findings.
Section 3. Secure Firearms Storage. Section 3 amends the
federal criminal code to require the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to
allow a correctional officer at a federal prison or
correctional institution to store firearms on BOP premises in a
secure storage area outside the security perimeter of the
institution or in a vehicle lockbox, and carry a concealed
firearm on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of the
institution.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
PART III--PRISONS AND PRISONERS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 303--BUREAU OF PRISONS
Sec.
4041. Bureau of Prisons; director and employees.
* * * * * * *
4050. Secure firearms storage.
* * * * * * *
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.
* * * * * * *
[all]