I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 979

To ensure that services related to the operation of a correctional facility

and the incarceration of inmates are not provided by private contractors

or vendors and that persons convicted of any offenses against the United

States shall be housed in facilities managed and maintained by Federal

employees.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 4, 1999

Mr. STRICKLAND (for himself, Mr. KING, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. HOLDEN, Ms.

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr.

WALSH, and Mr. COYNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To ensure that services related to the operation of a correctional facility and the incarceration of inmates are not

provided by private contractors or vendors and that persons convicted of any offenses against the United States

shall be housed in facilities managed and maintained

by Federal employees.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) The issues of safety, liability, accountability,

4 and cost are the paramount issues in running cor5 rections facilities.

6 (2) In recent years, the privatization of persons

7 previously incarcerated by governmental entities has

8 resulted in frequent escapes by violent criminals,

9 riots resulting in extensive damage, prisoner on pris10 oner violence, and incidents of prisoner abuse by

11 staff.

12 (3) In some instances, the courts have prohib13 ited the transfer of additional convicts to private

14 prisons because of the danger to prisoners and the

15 community.

16 (4) Frequent escapes and riots at private facili17 ties impose expensive law enforcement operations on

18 State and local governments.

19 (5) The need to make profits creates incentives

20 for private contractors to underfund mechanisms

21 that provide for the security of the facility and the

22 safety of the inmates, corrections staff, and neigh23 boring community.

24 (6) The 1997 Supreme Court ruling in Richard25 son v. McKnight that the qualified immunity that

26 shields State and local correctional officers does not
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1 apply to private prison personnel, and therefor ex2 poses State and local governments to liability for the

3 actions of private corporations.

4 (7) Additional liability issues arise when in5 mates are transferred outside the jurisdiction of the

6 contracting State.

7 (8) Studies on private correctional facilities

8 have been unable to demonstrate any significant cost

9 savings in the privatization of corrections facilities.

10 (9) The imposition of punishment on errant

11 citizens through incarceration requires State and

12 local governments to exercise their coercive police

13 powers over individuals. These powers, including the

14 authority to use force over a private citizen, should

15 not be delegated to another private party.

16 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant

18 under subtitle A of title II of the Violent Crime Control

19 and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a grantee that receives

20 funds under such subtitle may not contract with a private

21 contractor or vendor to provide services related to the op22 eration of a correctional facility or the incarceration of in23 mates.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply to

2 grant funds received after the date of the enactment of

3 this Act.

4 SEC. 4. ENHANCING PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY IN THE

5 DUTIES OF THE BUREAU OF PRISONS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4042(a) of title 18,

7 United States Code, is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para9 graph (7);

10 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

11 (4); and

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the follow13 ing:

14 ‘‘(5) provide that any penal or correctional fa15 cility or institution except for community correc16 tional confinement such as halfway houses, confining

17 any person convicted of offenses against the United

18 States shall be under the direction of the director of

19 the Bureau of Prisons and shall be managed and

20 maintained by employees of the United States as de21 fined in section 2105 of title 5; and

22 ‘‘(6) provide that the housing, safeguarding,

23 care, subsistence, protection, instructing, and dis24 ciplining of any person charged with or convicted of

25 any offense against the United States, except such
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1 persons in community correctional confinement such

2 as halfway houses, will be conducted and carried out

3 by individuals who are employees of the United

4 States as defined in section 2105 of title 5; and’’.

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