Congress Passes Federal Prison Oversight Act
Bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law
The US Senate passed legislation yesterday to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons and increase independent accountability within the BOP. Reporting from The Associated Press exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and reporting from KTVU in the Bay Area hlighted the intense sexual abuses at the all-women's prison in Dublin at FCI-Dublin, one of the incidents that led to this legislation.
Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) introduced the Federal Prison Oversight Act while leading an investigation of the Bureau of Prisons as chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on investigations. It passed unanimously Wednesday without a formal roll call vote, meaning no senator objected.
It establishes an independent ombudsman for the agency to field and investigate complaints in the wake of rampant sexual abuse and other criminal misconduct by staff, chronic understaffing, escapes and high-profile deaths. It also requires that the Justice Department’s Inspector General conduct risk-based inspections of all 122 federal prison facilities, provide recommendations to address deficiencies and assign each facility a risk score. Higher-risk facilities would then receive more frequent inspections.
Ossoff led his floor statement by referencing the unprecedented sexual abuse at FCI Dublin, where seven correctional officers, including the warden, have been sentenced to prison for molesting, abusing and raping dozens of women. The BOP shut down FCI Dublin in April and now the 600 women are at other prisons across the country.
"How did it come to pass that in a nation whose founding document guarantees due process, civil rights and prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, a federal prison in Dublin, California would become so notorious for the endemic sexual abuse of female inmates by prison staff that it would be known as ‘Rape Club,’" Ossoff said.
Advocates for incarcerated people's rights provided statements supporting passage of the bill.
"After all the headlines, scandals, and controversy that have plagued the Bureau of Prisons for decades, we’re very happy to see this Congress take action to bring transparency and accountability to an agency that has gone so long without it," said Daniel Landsman, the vice president of policy for the advocacy group FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums).
“The ACLU applauds the bipartisan efforts of Sens. Ossoff, Braun, Durbin, and Manchin, and Reps. McBath and Armstrong to provide a common-sense solution to this ongoing crisis” said Nina Patel, senior policy counsel at the ACLU’s Justice Division. “The act creates oversight and accountability mechanisms that are essential to protect the civil liberties and dignity of individuals who are incarcerated in federal prisons.”
You can read the Press Release from Senator Ossoff's Office; "BREAKING: Senate Passes Sens. Ossoff, Braun, & Durbin, Rep. McBath & Armstrong’s Bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act." You can also watch his Senate Floor remarks on the bill's passage; "Senate Passes Sen. Ossoff's Bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act, Sending to President's Desk
