House Passage of Federal Prison Oversight Act Provides Renewed Bipartisan Momentum for Data-Driven Criminal Justice Reform
Experts say McBath-sponsored effort “critically needed” in light of failures in federal facilities; nation’s leading bipartisan criminal justice organization urges Senate to follow suit
Washington, DC – The House passed H.R. 3019, the Federal Prison Oversight Act, Tuesday evening, providing continued bipartisan momentum for increased oversight over the Federal Bureau of Prisons. With more than 30 bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill, which passed 392-2 Tuesday evening, would establish an ombudsman within the DOJ who would be tasked with handling complaints from incarcerated individuals, corrections staff and others, as well as provide for risk-based assessments of federal prison facilities. The House action marks the first major bipartisan floor action on broad bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation this Congress. The bill cleared the House Oversight Committee by a vote of 41-1 last month.
That committee action followed a February report that showed the majority of non-medical deaths in federal prisons were preventable, and amid frequent news reports of on-going abuses in prisons across the country.
JC Hendrickson, Federal Affairs Director for Justice Action Network released the following statement in light of the House passage: “People who have committed crimes require rehabilitation, and that cannot be accomplished when they are subjected to neglect and abuse in federal facilities without recourse or oversight. The Federal Prison Oversight Act is critically needed in light of mounting evidence of rights abuses and failures in federal facilities, and on-going staff shortages that put both corrections staff and the incarcerated people they oversee at risk. The House passage of this bill is a significant reminder that bipartisan progress is still possible – even in a contentious Congress, even during an election year. Oversight and transparency are bipartisan values that unite Americans across the political spectrum. The Senate should quickly follow suit and send this bill to the President before August.”