II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4156 

To require the Bureau of Prisons to submit to Congress an annual summary 

report of disaster damage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2024 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To require the Bureau of Prisons to submit to Congress 

an annual summary report of disaster damage, 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 ‘‘Correctional Facility 

5 Disaster Preparedness Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘major disaster’’ means— 

8 (1) a major disaster declared by the President 

9 under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 


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1 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 5170); or 

3 (2) any natural disaster or extreme weather or 

4 public health emergency event that— 

5 (A)(i) causes physical damage to a Bureau 

6 of Prisons facility or contract prison; or 

7 (ii) disrupts services described in para8 graph (2), (4), (5), or (6) of section 3(a); and 

9 (B) the Bureau of Prisons determines is a 

10 major disaster. 

11 SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT 

12 OF DISASTER DAMAGE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of 

14 Prisons shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations, 

15 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on 

16 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen17 ate and the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee 

18 on the Judiciary, the Committee on Homeland Security 

19 of the House of Representatives, the Government Account20 ability Office, and the Inspector General of the Depart21 ment of Justice an annual summary report of disaster 

22 damage on the scope of physical damage from a major 

23 disaster by each Bureau of Prisons facility and its con24 tract prisons impacted or struck by a major disaster that 


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1 explains the effects of the damage on inmates and staff, 

2 including— 

3 (1) data on injury and loss of life of inmates 

4 and staff; 

5 (2) access to health and medical care, food, spe6 cial dietary needs, drinkable water, personal protec7 tive equipment, and personal hygiene products; 

8 (3) guidance used to adjudicate early release or 

9 home confinement requests, data on early release or 

10 home confinement approvals, denials, and justifica11 tion for denials; 

12 (4) an explanation as to whether using home 

13 confinement or early release was considered; 

14 (5) access to cost-free and uninterrupted visita15 tion with legal counsel and visitors with justifica16 tions for facility decisions that resulted in suspended 

17 or altered visitations; 

18 (6) access to appropriate accommodations for 

19 inmates with disabilities; 

20 (7) access to educational and work programs; 

21 (8) inmate grievances; 

22 (9) assessment of the cost of the damage to the 

23 facility and estimates for repairs; 

24 (10) the impact on staffing, equipment, and fi25 nancial resources; and 


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1 (11) other factors relating to the ability of the 

2 Bureau of Prisons and any existing contract prison 

3 to uphold the health, safety, and civil rights of the 

4 correctional population. 

5 (b) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The report re6 quired under subsection (a) shall include agency corrective 

7 actions that the Bureau of Prisons will take to improve 

8 and modernize emergency preparedness plans, as they re9 late to natural disasters, extreme weather, and public 

10 health emergencies and a timeline to implement the cor11 rective action plan. 

12 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report required under 

13 subsection (a) shall include specific legislative rec14 ommendations to Congress for improving emergency pre15 paredness plans within the Bureau of Prisons. 

16 (d) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

17 enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Pris18 ons shall appoint an official of the Bureau of Prisons re19 sponsible for carrying out the corrective action plan. 

20 SEC. 4. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS. 

21 Section 4351 of title 18, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (c)— 

24 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

25 by striking ‘‘ten’’ and inserting ‘‘14’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) One shall have served a sentence in either 

3 a Federal or State correctional facility or have a 

4 professional background advocating on the behalf of 

5 formerly incarcerated or incarcerated individuals. 

6 ‘‘(4) One shall have a background as an emer7 gency response coordinator that has created an 

8 emergency management accreditation program. 

9 ‘‘(5) One shall have an educational and profes10 sional background in public health working with 

11 communicable diseases. 

12 ‘‘(6) One shall represent the labor union that 

13 represents Bureau of Prisons employees.’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) FIELD HEARING.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this subsection, the National In17 stitute of Corrections shall conduct at least one public field 

18 hearing on how correctional facilities can incorporate in 

19 their emergency preparedness plans and recovery efforts— 

20 ‘‘(1) inmate access to medical care, food, drink21 able water, personal protective equipment, and per22 sonal hygiene products; 

23 ‘‘(2) consideration by staff of using home con24 finement or early release; 


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1 ‘‘(3) inmate access to cost-free and uninter2 rupted visitation with legal counsel and visitors with 

3 clear standards for when facilities may suspend or 

4 alter visitations; 

5 ‘‘(4) inmate access to appropriate accommoda6 tions for inmates with disabilities; 

7 ‘‘(5) use of Federal funding to restore disaster8 damaged correctional facilities; and 

9 ‘‘(6) incorporation by staff of risk management 

10 best practices, such as those made available under 

11 the relevant agencies of the Federal Emergency 

12 Management Administration, Department of Health 

13 and Human Services, and the Government Account14 ability Office to enhance emergency preparedness 

15 plans.’’. 

Æ 


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