II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5128 

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to develop and implement 

a strategy to interdict illicit substances and other contraband in the 

mail at Federal correctional facilities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to develop 

and implement a strategy to interdict illicit substances 

and other contraband in the mail at Federal correctional 

facilities. 

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 ‘‘Interdiction of 

5 Fentanyl in Federal Prisons Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 5128 IS

1 (1) CONTRABAND.—The term ‘‘contraband’’ 

2 means any material prohibited by law, regulation, or 

3 policy of the Bureau of Prisons that can reasonably 

4 be expected to cause physical injury or adversely af5 fect the safety, security, or good order of a facility 

6 operated by the Bureau of Prisons or the protection 

7 of the public. 

8 (2) ILLICIT SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘illicit sub9 stance’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘controlled 

10 substance’’ in section 102 of the Controlled Sub11 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 

12 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

13 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. 

14 (4) OPIOID.—The term ‘‘opioid’’ has the mean15 ing given that term in section 102 of the Controlled 

16 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 

17 SEC. 3. STRATEGY TO INTERDICT ILLICIT SUBSTANCES 

18 AND OTHER CONTRABAND IN POSTAL MAIL. 

19 (a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall evalu21 ate— 

22 (1) the acquisition and deployment of equip23 ment to interdict illicit substances and other contra24 band by Federal correctional facilities; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 5128 IS

1 (2) the use of technology services to scan mail 

2 by Federal correctional facilities; and 

3 (3) whether any technology used by other Fed4 eral agencies to intercept and interdict illicit sub5 stances and other contraband in the mail may be 

6 used by the Bureau of Prisons. 

7 (b) STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 days after com8 pleting the evaluation under subsection (a), the Director 

9 shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen10 ate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

11 Representatives a strategy to provide each Federal correc12 tional facility with capabilities necessary to— 

13 (1) protect staff and inmates from exposure 

14 and access to illicit substances and other contra15 band, including opioids and other narcotics, intro16 duced to facilities through the mail; 

17 (2) ensure that— 

18 (A) each inmate receives a digital copy of 

19 any mail that is addressed to the inmate, con20 sistent with the law and the safety procedures 

21 implemented by the Bureau of Prisons; 

22 (B) as soon as practicable, the inmate re23 ceives the original physical copy of the mail re24 ceived in digital format under subparagraph 

25 (A), consistent with the law and the safety proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Sep 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5128.IS S5128

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 5128 IS

1 cedures implemented by the Bureau of Prisons; 

2 and 

3 (C) delivery to any inmate under subpara4 graphs (A) and (B) is documented; and 

5 (3) achieve 100 percent scanning capacity of 

6 mail arriving at all Federal correctional facilities. 

7 (c) CONTENTS.—The strategy required under sub8 section (b) shall— 

9 (1) identify critical information technology, dig10 ital mail scanning equipment, and mail scanning 

11 services necessary to achieve the scanning capacity 

12 described in subsection (b)(3); 

13 (2) include an assessment of operational and 

14 logistical considerations, including— 

15 (A) prioritization of high security and 

16 large inmate population facilities for digital 

17 mail scanning infrastructure and security tech18 nology deployment; 

19 (B) an assessment of any additional per20 sonnel and technology training necessary to im21 plement the strategy; and 

22 (C) requirements for the maintenance of 

23 scanning equipment and periodic digital tech24 nology upgrades; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 5128 IS

1 (3) include an equipment and technology budg2 etary proposal for fiscal years 2025 through 2027 in 

3 order to fully implement the strategy described 

4 under subsection (b). 

5 (d) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than 1 

6 year after the date on which the strategy under subsection 

7 (b) is submitted, and each year thereafter, the Director 

8 shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen9 ate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

10 Representatives a report on the efficiency of the strategy 

11 and the total quantity of illicit substances and other con12 traband detected in the mail at Federal correctional facili13 ties. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS