Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2012

Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2012 - Amends the federal criminal code to require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by the President (currently, by the Attorney General), with the advice and consent of the Senate.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4730 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4730

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by and 
               with the advice and consent of the Senate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2012

 Mr. Huizenga of Michigan (for himself and Mr. Frank of Massachusetts) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by and 
               with the advice and consent of the Senate.

    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 ``Federal Prisons Accountability Act 
of 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons leads a law 
        enforcement component of the Department of Justice with a 
        budget that exceeds $6,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.
            (2) With the exception of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, the Bureau of Prisons has the largest operating 
        budget of any unit within the Department of Justice.
            (3) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons oversees and is 
        responsible for the welfare of more than 216,000 Federal 
        inmates in 117 facilities.
            (4) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons supervises more 
        than 37,000 employees, many of whom operate in hazardous 
        environments that involve regular interaction with violent 
        offenders.
            (5) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons also serves as 
        the chief operating officer for Federal Prisons Industries, a 
        wholly owned government enterprise of 98 prison factories that 
        directly competes against the private sector, including small 
        businesses, for Government contracts.
            (6) Within the Department of Justice, in addition to those 
        officials who oversee litigating components, the Director of 
        the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the 
        Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Director of 
        the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Director of the Community 
        Relations Service, the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, the Director of the National Institute of 
        Justice, the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime, the 
        Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, the 
        Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the 
        Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
        the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
        Delinquency Prevention, the Director of the United States 
        Marshals Service, 94 United States Marshals, the Inspector 
        General of the Department of Justice, and the Special Counsel 
        for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices, are all 
        appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent 
        of the Senate.
            (7) Despite the significant budget of the Bureau of Prisons 
        and the vast number of people under the responsibility of the 
        Director of the Bureau of Prisons, the Director is not 
        appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

SEC. 3. DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF PRISONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 4041 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ``appointed by and serving directly under the 
Attorney General.'' and inserting the following: ``who shall be 
appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. The Director shall serve directly under the Attorney 
General.''.
    (b) Incumbent.--Notwithstanding the amendment made by subsection 
(a), the individual serving as the Director of the Bureau of Prisons on 
the date of enactment of this Act may serve as the Director of the 
Bureau of Prisons until the date that is 3 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to limit the ability of the President to appoint the individual serving 
as the Director of the Bureau of Prisons on the date of enactment of 
this Act to the position of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons in 
accordance with section 4041 of title 18, United States Code, as 
amended by subsection (a).
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