II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5206 

To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are primary caretaker 

parents, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2022 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are 

primary caretaker parents, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Dignity Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE TREATMENT OF PRIMARY CARE6 TAKER PARENTS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS 

7 IN FEDERAL PRISONS. 

8 Section 4051 of title 18, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) VISITATION RULES.—The Director shall promul2 gate regulations for visitation between prisoners who are 

3 primary caretaker parents and their family members 

4 under which— 

5 ‘‘(1) a prisoner may receive visits not fewer 

6 than 6 days per week, which shall include Saturday 

7 and Sunday; 

8 ‘‘(2) a covered institution shall be open for visi9 tation for not fewer than 8 hours per day; 

10 ‘‘(3) a prisoner may have up to 5 adult visitors 

11 and an unlimited number of child visitors per visit; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(4) a prisoner may have physical contact with 

14 visitors unless the prisoner presents an immediate 

15 physical danger to the visitors. 

16 ‘‘(j) OMBUDSMAN.—The Attorney General shall des17 ignate an ombudsman to oversee and monitor, with re18 spect to covered institutions— 

19 ‘‘(1) prisoner transportation; 

20 ‘‘(2) use of segregated housing; 

21 ‘‘(3) strip searches of prisoners; and 

22 ‘‘(4) civil rights violations. 

23 ‘‘(k) TELECOMMUNICATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director— 


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1 ‘‘(A) may not charge a fee for a telephone 

2 call made by a prisoner; and 

3 ‘‘(B) shall make videoconferencing avail4 able to prisoners in each covered institution free 

5 of charge. 

6 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

7 paragraph (1)(B) shall be construed to authorize the 

8 Director to use videoconferencing as a substitute for 

9 in-person visits. 

10 ‘‘(l) USE OF SEX-APPROPRIATE CORRECTIONAL OF11 FICERS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall make 

13 rules under which— 

14 ‘‘(A) a correctional officer may not conduct 

15 a strip search of a prisoner of the opposite sex 

16 unless— 

17 ‘‘(i) the prisoner presents a risk of 

18 immediate harm to the prisoner or others, 

19 and no other correctional officer of the 

20 same sex as the prisoner, or medical staff, 

21 is available to assist; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the prisoner has previously re23 quested that an officer of a different sex 

24 conduct searches; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a correctional officer may not enter a 

2 restroom reserved for prisoners of the opposite 

3 sex unless— 

4 ‘‘(i) a prisoner in the restroom pre5 sents a risk of immediate harm to the pris6 oner or others; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) there is a medical emergency in 

8 the restroom and no other correctional offi9 cer of the appropriate sex is available to 

10 assist; 

11 ‘‘(C) a transgender prisoner’s sex shall be 

12 determined according to the sex with which the 

13 prisoner identifies; and 

14 ‘‘(D) a correctional officer may not search 

15 or physically examine a prisoner for the sole 

16 purpose of determining the prisoner’s genital 

17 status or sex. 

18 ‘‘(2) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

19 paragraph (1) shall be construed to affect the re20 quirements under the Prison Rape Elimination Act 

21 of 2003 (34 U.S.C. 30301 et seq.).’’. 

22 SEC. 3. OVERNIGHT VISIT PILOT PROGRAM. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

24 (1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

25 the Bureau of Prisons; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘primary caretaker parent’’ has 

2 the meaning given the term in section 31903 of the 

3 Family United Demonstration Project Act (34 

4 U.S.C. 12242); and 

5 (3) the term ‘‘prisoner’’ means an individual 

6 who is incarcerated in a Federal penal or correc7 tional institution. 

8 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out 

9 a pilot program under which prisoners who are primary 

10 caretaker parents and meet eligibility criteria established 

11 by the Director may receive overnight visits from family 

12 members. 

13 (c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—In establishing eligi14 bility criteria for the pilot program under subsection (b), 

15 the Director shall— 

16 (1) require that a prisoner have displayed good 

17 behavior; and 

18 (2) prohibit participation by any prisoner who 

19 has been convicted of a crime of violence (as defined 

20 in section 16 of title 18, United States Code). 

Æ 


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