Senate Sends Prison Oversight Reform to President Biden, Proves Bipartisan Public Safety Policy Should Be High Priority
Senate’s unanimous passage of critical prison reform legislation is a timely reminder that bipartisan public safety policy is not just possible but popular and effective.
Washington DC – The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to send the Federal Prison Oversight Act to President Biden’s desk on Wednesday evening. The move follows overwhelming passage in the House in May, and comes amid months of investigations that have revealed shocking human rights abuses in federal prison facilities across the nation.
JC Hendrickson, Federal Affairs Director for Justice Action Network, the nation’s leading bipartisan criminal justice organization, released the following statement after the senate 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 Senate’s unanimous passage of critical prison reform legislation is a timely reminder that bipartisan public safety policy is not just possible but popular and effective. We urge President Biden to sign this bill, and we congratulate its authors in both the House and Senate, including Representatives McBath and Armstrong, and Senators Ossoff and Braun. Both Congress and the administration should actively pursue other bipartisan solutions to the public safety issues that are top of mind for voters this election season.”
The Federal Prison Oversight Act was among policies and executive actions highlighted in a new report Justice Action Network released earlier in the day Wednesday. Federal Criminal Justice Reform: Options for Policymakers 2025-2029 includes policy options for addressing inefficiencies throughout the criminal justice system – from crime prevention to reentry after a period of incarceration – through the lens of bipartisan cooperation, focusing on policies that have already attained strong support from both elected officials and citizens on both sides of the political aisle.