Amends the Federal criminal code to require the Bureau of Prisons to provide that: (1) any penal or correctional facility or institution, except for nonprofit community correctional confinement (such as halfway houses), confining any person convicted of offenses against the United States shall be under the direction of the Director of the Bureau and shall be managed and maintained by Federal, State, or local government employees; and (2) the housing, safeguarding, protection, and disciplining of any person charged with or convicted of any offense against the United States (with that exception) shall be conducted and carried out by Federal, State, or local government employees.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1994 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1994
To ensure that the incarceration of inmates is not provided by private
contractors or vendors and that persons charged or convicted of an
offense against the United States shall be housed in facilities managed
and maintained by Federal, State, or local governments.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 6, 2003
Mr. Strickland (for himself, Mr. Holden, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Cummings, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr.
Scott of Georgia, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, and Mr. Brown of Ohio)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that the incarceration of inmates is not provided by private
contractors or vendors and that persons charged or convicted of an
offense against the United States shall be housed in facilities managed
and maintained by Federal, State, or local governments.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Public Safety Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The issues of safety, liability, accountability, and
cost are the paramount issues in running corrections
facilities.
(2) In recent years, the privatization of facilities for
persons previously incarcerated by governmental entities has
resulted in frequent escapes by violent criminals, riots
resulting in extensive damage, prisoner violence, and incidents
of prisoner abuse by staff.
(3) In some instances, the courts have prohibited the
transfer of additional convicts to private prisons because of
the danger to prisoners and the community.
(4) Frequent escapes and riots at private facilities result
in expensive law enforcement costs for State and local
governments.
(5) The need to make profits creates incentives for private
contractors to underfund mechanisms that provide for the
security of the facility and the safety of the inmates,
corrections staff, and neighboring community.
(6) The 1997 Supreme Court ruling in Richardson v. McKnight
that the qualified immunity that shields State and local
correctional officers does not apply to private prison
personnel, and therefore exposes State and local governments to
liability for the actions of private corporations.
(7) Additional liability issues arise when inmates are
transferred outside the jurisdiction of the contracting State.
(8) Studies on private correctional facilities have been
unable to demonstrate any significant cost savings in the
privatization of corrections facilities.
(9) The imposition of punishment on errant citizens through
incarceration requires State and local governments to exercise
their coercive police powers over individuals. These powers,
including the authority to use force over a private citizen,
should not be delegated to another private party.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
(a) In General.--Funds provided by the Federal Government to a
State or local government for the purpose of providing core
correctional services may not be used to contract with private
contractors or vendors to provide such activities.
(b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``core
correctional services'' means the housing, safeguarding, protecting,
and disciplining of persons charged or convicted of an offense.
SEC. 4. ENHANCING PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY IN THE DUTIES OF THE
BUREAU OF PRISONS.
Section 4042(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (7);
(2) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (4); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) provide that any penal or correctional facility or
institution except for nonprofit community correctional
confinement, such as halfway houses, confining any person
convicted of offenses against the United States, shall be under
the direction of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons and
shall be managed and maintained by employees of Federal, State,
or local governments;
``(6) provide that the housing, safeguarding, protection,
and disciplining of any person charged with or convicted of any
offense against the United States, except such persons in
community correctional confinement such as halfway houses, will
be conducted and carried out by individuals who are employees
of Federal, State, or local governments; and''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E879)
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
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