Congressman Daniel Webster this week voted to pass H.R. 3019, the Federal Prison Oversight Act, legislation that establishes a new, independent oversight for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
“With historically limited oversight, the Bureau of Prisons has for too long suffered from fraud, abuse, unchecked crimes,” said Webster, a Republican who represents The Villages in the U.S. House of Representatives. “With one of the largest federal prisons housed in my district, I’ve been working to make improvements and this bill is a good step in the right direction. It provides commonsense reforms to improve the policies, procedures, and conditions for incarcerated individuals and correctional staff.”
H.R. 3019 would require the Inspector General at the Department of Justice to conduct risk-based inspections of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ correctional facilities. Additionally, it would require the DOJ to establish an Ombudsman to investigate the health and safety of incarcerated individuals and correctional staff and create a secure hotline and online form for family members of incarcerated people to submit complaints.
Webster has cosponsored additional legislation to address recruitment issues at prisons:
· H.R. 3199, the Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act, legislation that would improve pay for correctional officers.
· H.R. 6628, the BOP Direct-Hire Authority Act, legislation to provide direct hire authority, allowing prisons to directly hire Correctional Officers without compromising security standards.
