HR2879-119

What This Bill Does

The Prison Staffing Reform Act responds to Bureau of Prisons understaffing. Within 180 days, the BOP Director must complete a thorough external review of staffing, understaffing effects on employees and people in custody, and agency spending. The Director must submit to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and AFGE Council of Prison Locals C-33 a plan for recruitment, filling vacancies, reducing mandated overtime and misuse of augmentation, and strengthening staffing, plus guidelines for correctional and non-correctional staffing needs by housing unit, location, shift, security level, and special mission. The review must examine waiting lists, medical care, substance-use, mental-health and maternal-health programs, First Step Act processing, recidivism programming, violence and sexual misconduct protections, food services, contraband detection, camera deficits, digital radios with man-down features, employee health, overtime costs, medical-care quality, staffing methodologies, and a 3-year strategic plan and cost projection.

Who Benefits and How

Bureau of Prisons employees benefit because the bill targets mandated overtime, augmentation misuse, staffing shortages, and workplace health risks. People in BOP custody benefit if staffing improvements improve medical care, casework, programming, food services, and protection from abuse. AFGE Council of Prison Locals C-33 benefits because the review must consult with and report to the union council. Recidivism-reduction program providers benefit if staffing plans improve access to teachers, counselors, therapists, and support staff.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Bureau of Prisons Director must commission the review, produce the plan and staffing guidelines, and implement the plan subject to appropriations. External review organizations must examine staffing, medical care, methodologies, security, costs, and programming effects. Congressional Judiciary Committees must review the plan and annual progress reports. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of external review work and any staffing increases funded under the plan.

Key Provisions

• Requires a comprehensive external review of BOP understaffing within 180 days.
• Directs a recruitment, vacancy, overtime, augmentation, and staffing-strengthening plan.
• Requires staffing guidelines for correctional officers and non-correctional departments by shift and security level.
• Requires medical-care review, security-technology analysis, cost projection, and 3-year staffing strategy.
• Requires annual progress reports until the end of the 3-year implementation period.