Bill > HR2879

This bill directs the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to conduct a comprehensive external review of staffing challenges across the agency's 121 institutions, addressing significant understaffing issues that impact both staff and inmates. The review, to be completed within 180 days and conducted by an independent organization in consultation with prison employee unions and civil rights groups, must examine how understaffing affects various aspects of prison operations, including medical care, rehabilitation programs, safety, security, and employee working conditions. The bill requires the Director to submit a detailed plan to congressional judiciary committees and the prison employees' union that outlines strategies for recruiting staff, filling vacancies, reducing mandatory overtime, and establishing specific staffing requirements for correctional officers and support staff across different shifts and security levels. Additionally, the bill mandates an independent medical care review, a comparison of current staffing assessment methodologies, and a three-year strategic plan for implementing staffing improvements. The Director must provide annual progress reports and complete implementation within three years, subject to available funding, with the ultimate goal of enhancing prison safety, staff well-being, and inmate rehabilitation opportunities.

Justice

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2879/all-info