HR3612-119

What This Bill Does

The End For-Profit Prisons Act of 2025 prohibits the federal government from contracting with for-profit companies to operate federal prisons and community confinement facilities (such as halfway houses). Within 6 years of enactment, all core correctional services at Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals Service facilities must be performed by federal government employees. Within 8 years, the Bureau of Prisons may no longer contract with any for-profit entity to provide or manage community confinement facilities. The bill also mandates regular congressional reporting on the federal prison population, requires research on recidivism-reduction programs, establishes annual inspections of Marshals Service detention facilities, and requires that released federal prisoners receive reentry counseling and assistance with government benefits applications.

Who Benefits and How

Federal correctional officers and government employees benefit from expanded employment as privatized positions are converted to federal jobs with civil service protections, pay scales, and benefits. Incarcerated persons and their families benefit from the transition away from profit-driven correctional management, which critics argue creates incentives to cut costs on staffing, healthcare, and programming. Released prisoners benefit from mandatory reentry counseling covering record expungement, employment barrier removal, vocational programs, and assistance applying for nutritional assistance, Medicaid, Social Security, drivers licenses, and voter registration. State and local governments that operate correctional facilities may benefit from continued contracting with the Marshals Service, as the ban applies only to for-profit entities. Communities surrounding federal prisons may benefit from higher-quality facility oversight through mandatory annual inspections.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Private prison corporations -- primarily GEO Group and CoreCivic -- face the elimination of their federal contracts over 6-8 years, a direct threat to a significant revenue stream. These companies currently operate multiple federal facilities and community confinement centers. The federal government bears substantially increased costs: operating prisons directly with government employees is more expensive due to higher wages, benefits, pensions, and civil service protections compared to private contractor staffing. The Bureau of Prisons faces major operational and logistical burdens in transitioning thousands of beds from private to government operation within the statutory timeline, including hiring, training, and potentially building or acquiring new facilities. The Attorney General takes on new compliance obligations including phasing out existing contracts, submitting biennial prison population reports, conducting recidivism research, developing reentry guidelines, and establishing information/counseling rules for released prisoners. The U.S. Marshals Service must conduct annual inspections of every detention facility it uses.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits for-profit contracting for all core correctional services at BOP and Marshals Service facilities within 6 years (Section 2)
• Prohibits for-profit community confinement facility contracts within 8 years (Section 2)
• Exempts Marshals Service contracts with state/local government-operated facilities from the ban (Section 2)
• Requires the Attorney General to phase out existing private prison contracts during transition period (Section 3)
• Mandates biennial congressional reports on federal prison population demographics and custody locations (Section 4)
• Directs research on recidivism reduction programs at community confinement facilities with quadrennial reporting (Section 5)
• Requires annual Marshals Service inspections of all detention facilities for constitutional and statutory compliance (Section 6)
• Mandates reentry counseling for released prisoners covering expungement rights, employment programs, vocational training, and government benefits applications (Section 7)
• Requires Bureau of Prisons to provide released prisoners with information on outstanding fines, restitution, and penalties (Section 8)