I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2293 

To establish procedures related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID– 

19) in correctional facilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2021 

Ms. BARRAGA ́N (for herself, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish procedures related to the coronavirus disease 

2019 (COVID–19) in 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 ‘‘Federal Correctional 

5 Facilities COVID–19 Response Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.—The term ‘‘cor9 rectional facility’’ includes— 


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1 (A) Federal prisons, including all prison, 

2 correctional, and detention facilities run by the 

3 Bureau of Prisons; and 

4 (B) privately owned or privately operated 

5 prison, correctional, and detention facilities con6 tracted by Federal entities, including the Bu7 reau of Prisons, to house Federal incarcerated 

8 persons. 

9 (2) CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EMPLOYEE.—The 

10 term ‘‘correctional facility employee’’ means any in11 dividual employed at a correctional facility housing 

12 Federal incarcerated persons, including— 

13 (A) a Federal employee; 

14 (B) an employee of a privately owned or 

15 privately operated prison, correctional, or deten16 tion facility contracted by a Federal entity to 

17 house Federal incarcerated persons; and 

18 (C) an employee of a private company con19 tracted to provide goods and services at a cor20 rectional facility. 

21 (3) COVID–19 DIAGNOSTIC TEST.—The term 

22 ‘‘COVID–19 diagnostic test’’ mean a test— 

23 (A) that is an in vitro diagnostic product 

24 (as defined in section 809.3 of title 21, Code of 

25 Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto) 


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1 for the detection of SARS–CoV–2 or the diag2 nosis of the virus that causes COVID–19; and 

3 (B) the administration of which— 

4 (i) is approved, cleared, or authorized 

5 under section 510(k), 513, 515, or 564 of 

6 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

7 (21 U.S.C. 360(k), 360c, 360e, 360bbb–3); 

8 (ii) the developer has requested, or in9 tends to request, emergency use authoriza10 tion under section 564 of the Federal 

11 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

12 360bbb–3), unless and until the emergency 

13 use authorization request under such sec14 tion 564 has been denied or the developer 

15 of such test does not submit a request 

16 under such section within a reasonable 

17 timeframe; 

18 (iii) is developed in and authorized by 

19 a State that has notified the Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services of its inten21 tion to review tests intended to diagnose 

22 COVID–19; or 

23 (iv) is another test that the Secretary 

24 determines appropriate in guidance. 


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1 (4) COVID–19 PANDEMIC.—The term 

2 ‘‘COVID–19 pandemic’’ means the period beginning 

3 on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on 

4 the date that is 1 year after the date on which the 

5 public health emergency declaration under section 

6 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 247d) with respect to COVID–19 terminates. 

8 (5) HIGH RISK INCARCERATED PERSON.—The 

9 term ‘‘high risk incarcerated person’’ means an indi10 vidual who meets the definition of ‘‘incarcerated per11 son’’ under this section who— 

12 (A) is 50 years old or older; 

13 (B) has chronic kidney disease; 

14 (C) has chronic obstructive pulmonary dis15 ease; 

16 (D) is immunocompromised; 

17 (E) has obesity; 

18 (F) has a heart condition, such as coro19 nary artery disease or cardiomyopathy; 

20 (G) has sickle cell disease; 

21 (H) has type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus; 

22 (I) has moderate to severe asthma; 

23 (J) has cerebrovascular disease; 

24 (K) has cystic fibrosis; 


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1 (L) has hypertension or high blood pres2 sure; 

3 (M) has a neurological condition such as 

4 dementia or Parkinson’s Disease; 

5 (N) has liver disease; 

6 (O) is pregnant; 

7 (P) has pulmonary fibrosis; 

8 (Q) has thalassemia; 

9 (R) is a smoker; 

10 (S) has a disability; or 

11 (T) meets any other characteristic identi12 fied by the Centers for Disease Control and 

13 Prevention as putting individuals at increased 

14 risk of developing severe illness from COVID– 

15 19. 

16 (6) INCARCERATED PERSON.—The term ‘‘incar17 cerated person’’ means an individual involuntarily 

18 confined or detained in a correctional facility. 

19 (7) SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF COVID–19.—The 

20 term ‘‘signs and symptoms of COVID–19’’ means 

21 fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or dif22 ficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, 

23 headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, 

24 congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diar25 rhea, and any other medical condition or reaction 


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1 identified by the Centers for Disease Control and 

2 Prevention as being a physical reaction to the con3 traction of the severe acute respiratory syndrome 

4 coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2). 

5 SEC. 3. MANDATED COVID–19 TESTING AND VACCINATION 

6 AT CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES. 

7 (a) TESTING OF INCARCERATED PERSONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each correctional facility 

9 shall— 

10 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act— 

12 (i) provide each incarcerated person in 

13 the facility with the option to take a 

14 COVID–19 diagnostic test, regardless of 

15 whether the incarcerated person exhibits 

16 symptoms of COVID–19, at no cost to the 

17 incarcerated person; 

18 (ii) provide each incarcerated person 

19 with the results of the diagnostic test, re20 gardless of the results, including an inter21 pretation of what the test results mean in 

22 the incarcerated person’s preferred lan23 guage; 

24 (iii) provide each incarcerated person 

25 who tests positive for COVID–19 with necVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2293.IH H2293

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1 essary medical care (as outlined in the Na2 tional Institutes of Health COVID–19 

3 Treatment Guidelines), including COVID– 

4 19 tests to monitor recovery if indicated by 

5 the Centers for Disease Control and Pre6 vention, and housing in a medical isolation 

7 unit under the care of medical profes8 sionals, at no cost to the incarcerated per9 son; 

10 (iv) place each asymptomatic incarcer11 ated person who is exposed to a positive 

12 case in quarantine until testing is com13 pleted consistent with Centers for Disease 

14 Control and Prevention guidance; and 

15 (v) place each symptomatic incarcer16 ated person into medical isolation while 

17 awaiting test results; and 

18 (B) during the period beginning not later 

19 than 45 days after the date of enactment of 

20 this Act and ending on the last day of the 

21 COVID–19 pandemic— 

22 (i) conduct weekly COVID–19 diag23 nostic testing of incarcerated persons in 

24 the facility in accordance with the guide25 lines developed under section 6, regardless 


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1 of whether such incarcerated persons ex2 hibit symptoms of COVID–19, at no cost 

3 to incarcerated persons; 

4 (ii) conduct COVID–19 diagnostic 

5 testing for any incarcerated person with 

6 COVID–19 symptoms, or for any incarcer7 ated person who is a close contact of a 

8 known COVID–19 case, in accordance with 

9 the guidelines developed under section 6; 

10 (iii) provide each incarcerated person 

11 with the results of the diagnostic tests, re12 gardless of the results, including an inter13 pretation of what the test results mean in 

14 the incarcerated person’s preferred lan15 guage; 

16 (iv) provide each incarcerated person 

17 who tests positive for COVID–19 with nec18 essary medical care (as outlined in the Na19 tional Institutes of Health COVID–19 

20 Treatment Guidelines), including COVID– 

21 19 tests to monitor recovery if indicated by 

22 the Centers for Disease Control and Pre23 vention, and housing in a medical isolation 

24 unit under the care of medical profes25 sionals, at no cost to the incarcerated perVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2293.IH H2293

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1 son, in accordance with the guidelines de2 veloped under section 6; 

3 (v) quarantine each incarcerated per4 son exposed to a positive COVID–19 case 

5 in accordance with the guidelines developed 

6 under section 6; and 

7 (vi) establish a procedure through 

8 which incarcerated people can opt out of 

9 COVID–19 testing, in accordance with the 

10 guidelines developed under section 6. 

11 (2) NEW ENTRANTS.—During the period begin12 ning not later than 45 days after the date of enact13 ment of this Act and ending on the last day of the 

14 COVID–19 pandemic, each correctional facility 

15 shall— 

16 (A) provide each incarcerated person newly 

17 admitted or transferred to the facility with an 

18 optional COVID–19 diagnostic test within 24 

19 hours of entering the facility, regardless of 

20 whether the incarcerated person exhibits symp21 toms of COVID–19, at no cost to the incarcer22 ated person; and 

23 (B) immediately quarantine each incarcer24 ated person newly admitted or transferred to 

25 the facility within 24 hours of entering the faVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2293.IH H2293

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1 cility, consistent with Centers for Disease Con2 trol and Prevention guidance, until the incar3 cerated person has been confirmed to be nega4 tive for COVID–19, in accordance with the 

5 guidelines developed under section 6. 

6 (b) TESTING OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EMPLOY7 EES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each correctional facility 

9 shall— 

10 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act— 

12 (i) provide each correctional facility 

13 employee with a required COVID–19 diag14 nostic test, regardless of whether the em15 ployee exhibits symptoms of COVID–19, at 

16 no cost to the employee; and 

17 (ii) provide each correctional facility 

18 employee who tests positive for COVID–19 

19 with unlimited paid administrative leave 

20 for the purpose of recovering from 

21 COVID–19, and no cost COVID–19 diag22 nostic testing for the purpose of moni23 toring recovery if indicated by the Centers 

24 for Disease Control and Prevention, until 


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1 the employee tests negative for COVID–19; 

2 and 

3 (B) during the period beginning not later 

4 than 45 days after the date of enactment of 

5 this Act and ending on the last day of the 

6 COVID–19 pandemic— 

7 (i) conduct required weekly COVID– 

8 19 diagnostic testing of each correctional 

9 facility employee in the facility, in accord10 ance with the guidelines developed under 

11 section 6, regardless of whether the em12 ployee exhibits symptoms of COVID–19, at 

13 no cost to the employee; 

14 (ii) provide each correctional facility 

15 employee who tests positive for COVID–19 

16 with unlimited paid leave for the purpose 

17 of recovering from COVID–19, and no cost 

18 COVID–19 diagnostic testing for the pur19 pose of monitoring recovery if indicated by 

20 the Centers for Disease Control and Pre21 vention, until the employee tests negative 

22 for COVID–19; and 

23 (iii) provide each correctional facility 

24 employee who is exposed to a positive 

25 COVID–19 case with guaranteed paid 


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1 leave to quarantine, consistent with Cen2 ters for Disease Control and Prevention 

3 guidance, or until the employee has been 

4 confirmed to be negative for COVID–19. 

5 (c) VACCINATION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS.— 

6 Each correctional facility shall— 

7 (1) not later than 45 days after the date of en8 actment of this Act— 

9 (A) begin providing each incarcerated per10 son in the facility with the option to take a 

11 COVID–19 vaccine; and 

12 (B) begin providing each incarcerated per13 son in the facility with information, offered in 

14 the incarcerated persons’ preferred language, on 

15 the type of COVID–19 vaccine offered, possible 

16 side effects of the COVID–19 vaccine, and edu17 cational materials on the benefits of COVID–19 

18 and other vaccinations. 

19 (d) VACCINATION OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EM20 PLOYEES.—Each correctional facility shall— 

21 (1) not later than 45 days after the date of en22 actment of this Act— 

23 (A) begin providing each correctional facil24 ity employee with the option to take a COVID– 

25 19 vaccine; and 


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1 (B) begin providing each correctional facil2 ity employee with information on the type of 

3 COVID–19 vaccine offered, possible side effects 

4 of the COVID–19 vaccine, and educational ma5 terials on the benefits of COVID–19 and other 

6 vaccinations. 

7 (e) PRIVACY.—Any data collected, stored, received, or 

8 published under this section shall— 

9 (1) be so collected, stored, received, or pub10 lished in a manner that protects the privacy of indi11 viduals whose information is included in the data; 

12 (2) be de-identified or anonymized in a manner 

13 that protects the identity of all individuals whose in14 formation is included in the data; 

15 (3) comply with privacy protections provided 

16 under the regulations promulgated under section 

17 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac18 countability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note); 

19 and 

20 (4) be limited in use for the purpose of public 

21 health and be protected from all other internal use 

22 by any entity that collects, stores, or receives the 

23 data, including use of the data in determinations of 

24 eligibility (or continued eligibility) in health plans, 

25 and from any other inappropriate uses. 


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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to relevant medical and pub3 lic officials such sums as are necessary to procure and ad4 minister the COVID–19 diagnostic tests and provide the 

5 medical care required in this section. 

6 SEC. 4. COVID–19 DATA COLLECTION AT CORRECTIONAL 

7 FACILITIES. 

8 (a) DATA COLLECTION.—During the period begin9 ning not later than 45 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act and ending on the last day of the COVID– 

11 19 pandemic, each correctional facility shall submit weekly 

12 reports to the Department of Justice, the Centers for Dis13 ease Control and Prevention, and the public health author14 ity of the State in which the facility is located on the fol15 lowing: 

16 (1) TESTING NUMBERS.—COVID–19 diagnostic 

17 testing, including cumulative and new (since the pre18 vious report) counts of— 

19 (A) the number of incarcerated persons 

20 tested for COVID–19, disaggregated by routine 

21 weekly testing, symptomatic testing, close con22 tact testing, recovery monitoring testing, and 

23 new entrant testing; 

24 (B) the number of correctional facility em25 ployees tested for COVID–19, disaggregated by 


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1 routine weekly testing, symptomatic testing, 

2 close contact testing, and recovery monitoring 

3 testing; and 

4 (C) the COVID–19 diagnostic test devel5 oper, test name, and type of test (molecular, 

6 antigen, or other) for each COVID–19 diag7 nostic test conducted. 

8 (2) TEST RESULTS.—COVID–19 diagnostic 

9 testing outcomes, including cumulative and new 

10 (since the previous report) counts of— 

11 (A) the number of confirmed active cases 

12 of COVID–19 among incarcerated persons, 

13 disaggregated by routine weekly testing, symp14 tomatic testing, close contact testing, recovery 

15 monitoring testing, and new entrant testing; 

16 (B) the number of confirmed negative 

17 cases of COVID–19 among incarcerated per18 sons, disaggregated by routine weekly testing, 

19 symptomatic testing, close contact testing, re20 covery monitoring testing, and new entrant 

21 testing; 

22 (C) the number of confirmed active cases 

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1 ing, symptomatic testing, close contact testing, 

2 and recovery monitoring testing; 

3 (D) the number of confirmed negative 

4 cases of COVID–19 among correctional facility 

5 employees, disaggregated by routine weekly 

6 testing, symptomatic testing, close contact test7 ing, and recovery monitoring testing; 

8 (E) the number of tests pending results, 

9 disaggregated by incarcerated persons and cor10 rectional facility employees; 

11 (F) the average time between testing an 

12 incarcerated person for COVID–19 and receiv13 ing the results of the test; and 

14 (G) the average time between testing a 

15 correctional facility employee for COVID–19 

16 and receiving the results of the test. 

17 (3) CASE OUTCOMES.—COVID–19 case out18 comes, including cumulative and new (since the pre19 vious report) counts of— 

20 (A) the number of incarcerated persons 

21 hospitalized for a case of COVID–19; 

22 (B) the number of incarcerated persons 

23 who have recovered from COVID–19; 


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1 (C) the number of incarcerated persons 

2 currently in quarantine or medical isolation for 

3 COVID–19, respectively; 

4 (D) the number of incarcerated persons 

5 who have completed quarantine or been released 

6 from medical isolation, respectively; 

7 (E) the number of incarcerated persons 

8 who have died from a confirmed or suspected 

9 case of COVID–19; 

10 (F) the number of correctional facility em11 ployees hospitalized for a case of COVID–19; 

12 (G) the number of correctional facility em13 ployees who have recovered from COVID–19; 

14 and 

15 (H) the number of correctional facility em16 ployees who have died from a case of COVID– 

17 19. 

18 (4) RELEASE OF INCARCERATED PERSONS.— 

19 Data related to the release of incarcerated persons, 

20 including individuals released to home confinement 

21 and pursuant to compassionate release, as a result 

22 of the COVID–19 public health emergency. 

23 (5) DAILY POPULATION.—Average daily popu24 lation, disaggregated by incarcerated persons and 

25 correctional facility employees. 


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1 (6) VACCINATIONS.—Data related to distribu2 tion of the COVID–19 vaccine, including— 

3 (A) the policies of the facility relating to 

4 the distribution of the COVID–19 vaccination 

5 to incarcerated persons and correctional facility 

6 staff, including how the facility is prioritizing 

7 distribution, both among correctional facility 

8 staff and incarcerated persons, and any changes 

9 or updates made to the policies; 

10 (B) the total number of COVID–19 vac11 cine doses that the facility has received up to 

12 the date of the report; 

13 (C) the total number and percentage of in14 carcerated persons who— 

15 (i) have been offered a COVID–19 

16 vaccine; 

17 (ii) have received a first dose of the 

18 COVID–19 vaccine up to the date of the 

19 report; 

20 (iii) are fully vaccinated, either be21 cause the person received a second dose of 

22 the COVID–19 vaccine or because the 

23 COVID–19 vaccine the person received re24 quired only 1 dose; 


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1 (iv) declined the COVID–19 vaccine; 

2 and 

3 (v) are housed in a skilled nursing 

4 level housing unit or hospice and have— 

5 (I) not received the COVID–19 

6 vaccine; 

7 (II) accepted the COVID–19 vac8 cine; and 

9 (III) declined the COVID–19 

10 vaccine; 

11 (D) the total number and percentage of 

12 correctional facility staff who— 

13 (i) have been offered a COVID–19 

14 vaccine; 

15 (ii) have received a first dose of the 

16 COVID–19 vaccine in up to the date of the 

17 report; 

18 (iii) are fully vaccinated, either be19 cause the person received a second dose of 

20 the COVID–19 vaccine or because the 

21 COVID–19 vaccine the person received re22 quired only 1 dose; and 

23 (iv) declined the COVID–19 vaccine; 

24 and 


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1 (E) in the case of incarcerated persons and 

2 correctional facility staff described in subpara3 graph (C)(iv) or (D)(iv), respectively, the 3 

4 most common reasons given for declining the 

5 COVID–19 vaccine. 

6 (b) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—The data described 

7 in this section shall be disaggregated by sex, sexual ori8 entation, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, disability, 

9 and geography (including county and State). 

10 (c) PUBLIC REPORTING.—The Secretary of Health 

11 and Human Services, acting through the Director of the 

12 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall make 

13 publicly available on the internet the most recent and his14 toric information reported weekly under subsection (a) in 

15 a machine-readable format. 

16 (d) COVID–19 SYMPTOM TRACKING AND MEDICAL

17 RECORD RETENTION.—During the period beginning not 

18 later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act 

19 and ending on the last day of the COVID–19 pandemic, 

20 each correctional facility shall systemically track and 

21 record the signs and symptoms of COVID–19 among in22 carcerated persons and correctional center employees. As 

23 part of the tracking system, correctional facilities shall— 

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1 cluding medical care for the signs and symptoms of 

2 COVID–19; 

3 (2) conduct weekly screenings, in conjunction 

4 with the testing requirements described in section 3, 

5 of incarcerated persons for signs and symptoms of 

6 COVID–19 and maintain records of the results of 

7 such screenings for each incarcerated person; and 

8 (3) present for review, as requested at any time 

9 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services or 

10 the Attorney General, records collected under para11 graphs (1) and (2). 

12 (e) INCARCERATED PERSONS DATA.—The data de13 scribed in this section with respect to incarcerated persons 

14 who are serving a term of imprisonment and who are in15 fected with COVID–19 shall include, to the extent prac16 ticable, the term of imprisonment imposed on the incarcer17 ated persons, the time served, and the release date. 

18 (f) PRIVACY.—Any data collected, stored, received, or 

19 published under this section shall— 

20 (1) be so collected, stored, received, or pub21 lished in a manner that protects the privacy of indi22 viduals whose information is included in the data; 

23 (2) be de-identified or anonymized in a manner 

24 that protects the identity of all individuals whose in25 formation is included in the data; 


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1 (3) comply with privacy protections provided 

2 under the regulations promulgated under section 

3 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac4 countability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note); 

5 and 

6 (4) be limited in use for the purpose of public 

7 health and be protected from all other internal use 

8 by any entity that collects, stores, or receives the 

9 data, including use of such data in determinations of 

10 eligibility (or continued eligibility) in health plans, 

11 and from any other inappropriate uses. 

12 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Centers for Disease 

14 Control and Prevention such sums as are necessary to 

15 publicize the data as described in this section. 

16 SEC. 5. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND INVESTIGA17 TION DEPLOYMENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Correctional facilities shall report 

19 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in20 stances when 3 or more incarcerated persons or correc21 tional facility employees present new COVID–19 cases 

22 within 72 hours of each other, within 24 hours of identi23 fying the third case. 

24 (b) DEPLOYMENT OF STAFF.—In such instances, the 

25 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall deploy 


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1 staff with experience in preventing the spread of infectious 

2 diseases in congregate settings to the facility for the pur3 pose of mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID– 

4 19 at the facility. 

5 SEC. 6. UPDATED BUREAU OF PRISONS GUIDELINES ON 

6 HANDLING COVID–19 IN CORRECTIONAL FA7 CILITIES. 

8 (a) UPDATED COVID–19 GUIDELINES.—Not later 

9 than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

10 Department of Justice, acting through the Bureau of Pris11 ons and in consultation with the Centers for Disease Con12 trol and Prevention, shall release updated guidelines on 

13 the management of COVID–19 in correctional facilities. 

14 (b) EXPERT CONSULTATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing the guidelines 

16 described in subsection (a), the Department of Jus17 tice shall consult with no fewer than 10 experts in 

18 public health and correctional facility management, 

19 which shall include— 

20 (A) academics with medical and public 

21 health expertise; 

22 (B) advocates for imprisoned populations; 

23 (C) public health officials; 

24 (D) tribal leaders or their representatives; 

25 and 


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1 (E) labor representatives of correctional fa2 cility employees. 

3 (2) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Recommendations 

4 from and correspondence with individuals described 

5 in paragraph (1) shall be made publicly available. 

6 (c) CONTENTS.—The guidelines described in sub7 section (a) shall, at a minimum, include— 

8 (1) requirements that correctional facilities con9 duct voluntary COVID–19 diagnostic tests on, and 

10 quarantine consistent with Centers for Disease Con11 trol and Prevention guidance all new incarcerated 

12 persons who enter the facility during the COVID–19 

13 pandemic, including incarcerated persons being held 

14 at the facility while in transit between other facili15 ties; 

16 (2) guidance on how facilities should conduct 

17 weekly testing of incarcerated persons and correc18 tional facility employees, including guidance on how 

19 to conduct pooled sample testing in lieu of individual 

20 testing, if appropriate, and guidance on how to iden21 tify the appropriate type of diagnostic test to use, 

22 consistent with the most up-to-date public health in23 formation and guidance on preventing the spread of 

24 COVID–19; 


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1 (3) guidance on how correctional facilities 

2 should handle incarcerated persons who refuse to re3 ceive COVID–19 tests, such as through imple4 menting time-based or symptom-based isolation and 

5 quarantine strategies; 

6 (4) requirements that correctional facilities, 

7 once a single case of COVID–19 is detected within 

8 the facility, screen every incarcerated person and 

9 correctional facility employee for signs and symp10 toms of COVID–19 within 24 hours; 

11 (5) guidance for correctional facilities on max12 imum occupational capacity, social distancing best 

13 practices, and how to reduce the incarcerated person 

14 population within the facility, including updated 

15 guidance on the proactive release of incarcerated 

16 persons, with special consideration given to high-risk 

17 incarcerated persons; 

18 (6) guidance for correctional facilities on how to 

19 establish and implement cohorting strategies to min20 imize the spread of COVID–19 in facilities, with 

21 special consideration given to the cohorting of high22 risk incarcerated persons; 

23 (7) guidance for correctional facilities on how to 

24 establish and implement contact tracing efforts to 

25 identify, track, and prevent the spread of COVID– 


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1 19 among the contacts of incarcerated persons and 

2 correctional facility employees who test positive for 

3 COVID–19; 

4 (8) guidance for correctional facilities on how 

5 to— 

6 (A) humanely and effectively quarantine 

7 incarcerated persons exposed to COVID–19 and 

8 humanely and effectively medically isolate and 

9 provide medical care to incarcerated persons 

10 who contract COVID–19, including a prohibi11 tion on the use of punitive solitary confinement 

12 and other punitive measures as a means of 

13 treating and medically isolating incarcerated 

14 persons, with special consideration given to the 

15 quarantining and medical isolation and treat16 ment of high-risk incarcerated persons; 

17 (B) authorize the provision of materials, 

18 such as books, television shows, magazines, and 

19 movies to, increase recreation hours for, and ex20 pand programming and phone and email com21 munication privileges for incarcerated persons 

22 in medical isolation to minimize the similarity 

23 of punitive solitary confinement and other puni24 tive measures with medical quarantine; and 


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1 (C) confirm that incarcerated persons and 

2 correctional facility employees who have con3 tracted COVID–19 have recovered for the pur4 pose of releasing them from medical isolation; 

5 (9) guidance for correctional facilities on the 

6 proper cleaning and disinfecting of the facility to 

7 prevent the spread of COVID–19; 

8 (10) guidance for correctional facilities on prop9 er ventilation and air filtration strategies to prevent 

10 the spread of COVID–19; 

11 (11) guidance on the proper daily, weekly, and 

12 monthly allowance for incarcerated persons of per13 sonal protective equipment and face coverings, hand 

14 sanitizer, soap, cleaning items, and other materials 

15 that could reduce the spread of COVID–19 in facili16 ties, which shall be provided to incarcerated persons 

17 at no cost, including information on how to update 

18 existing guidelines within facilities on the limitation 

19 of incarcerated persons’ access to such materials; 

20 (12) guidance for correctional facilities on how 

21 to educate incarcerated persons, and the medical fa22 cilities treating those incarcerated persons for 

23 COVID–19, on the healthcare rights of the incarcer24 ated persons under Federal and State law and the 

25 minimum ethical standards of care, including the 


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1 use of medical isolation that does not include soli2 tary confinement; 

3 (13) recommendations for correctional facilities 

4 on how to increase communication between incarcer5 ated persons and friends and family outside of the 

6 facility during the COVID–19 pandemic, including 

7 guidance on how to suspend fees for phone calls and 

8 electronic communications and expand visitation (in9 cluding virtual visitation) options; 

10 (14) requirements that correctional facilities 

11 communicate, not less frequently than biweekly, and 

12 in such a manner that permits for feedback from in13 carcerated persons, to incarcerated persons the steps 

14 being taken to address the COVID–19 pandemic in 

15 the facility; 

16 (15) guidance for correctional facilities on how 

17 to connect incarcerated persons released from con18 finement as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic 

19 with post-release resources, such as health insur20 ance, primary care providers, other health profes21 sionals, and quarantine facilities, with sensitivity to 

22 the immigration status of incarcerated persons; and 

23 (16) guidance for correctional facilities on how 

24 to equitably distribute COVID–19 vaccinations to in25 carcerated persons and correctional facility staff, 


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1 with the goal of maximizing COVID–19 safety with2 in correctional facilities and reducing health dispari3 ties among correctional facility populations. 

4 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

5 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 

7 a report on prevention, mitigation, and control activities 

8 relating to the spread of COVID–19 in prisons conducted 

9 by the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons, 

10 disaggregated by facility when applicable, that includes in11 formation on— 

12 (1) efforts of correctional facilities to comply 

13 with the Interim Guidance on Management of 

14 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) in Correc15 tional and Detention Facilities issued by the Centers 

16 for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in 

17 this section as the ‘‘Interim Guidelines’’), includ18 ing— 

19 (A) information on steps that have been 

20 and continue to be taken with respect to oper21 ational preparedness, including— 

22 (i) with respect to communication and 

23 coordination— 

24 (I) developing information shar25 ing systems with partners; 


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1 (II) reviewing and revising for 

2 COVID–19 existing influenza, all-haz3 ards, and disaster plans; 

4 (III) coordinating with local law 

5 enforcement and court officials as 

6 necessary; and 

7 (IV) encouraging all persons in 

8 the facility, including through posting 

9 signs, to take action to protect them10 selves from COVID–19; 

11 (ii) with respect to personnel prac12 tices— 

13 (I) reviewing sick leave policies of 

14 each employer that operates within 

15 the facility; 

16 (II) identifying duties that can be 

17 performed remotely; 

18 (III) planning for staff absences; 

19 (IV) offering revised duties to 

20 staff at increased risk for severe ill21 ness from COVID–19; 

22 (V) making plans to change staff 

23 duty assignments to prevent unneces24 sary movement between housing units 

25 during a COVID–19 outbreak; 


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1 (VI) offering the seasonal influ2 enza vaccines to all incarcerated per3 sons and correctional facility staff; 

4 and 

5 (VII) offering and administering 

6 COVID–19 vaccines to all incarcer7 ated persons and correctional facility 

8 staff; and 

9 (iii) with respect to operations, sup10 plies, and personal protective equipment 

11 (referred to in this clause as ‘‘PPE’’) prep12 arations— 

13 (I) ensuring that sufficient stocks 

14 of hygiene supplies, cleaning supplies, 

15 PPE, and medical supplies (consistent 

16 with the healthcare capabilities of the 

17 facility) are on hand and available, 

18 and having a plan in place to restock 

19 as needed; 

20 (II) making contingency plans for 

21 possible PPE shortages during the 

22 COVID–19 pandemic; 

23 (III) relaxing restrictions on al24 lowing alcohol-based hand sanitizer; 


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1 (IV) providing a no-cost supply 

2 of soap to incarcerated persons suffi3 cient to allow frequent hand washing; 

4 (V) establishing a respiratory 

5 protection program, if not already in 

6 place; 

7 (VI) ensuring that correctional 

8 facility staff and incarcerated persons 

9 are trained to correctly don, doff, and 

10 dispose of PPE that they will need to 

11 use within the scope of their respon12 sibilities; and 

13 (VII) setting up designated PPE 

14 donning and doffing areas outside all 

15 spaces where PPE will be used; 

16 (B) information on steps that have been 

17 and continue to be taken with respect to pre18 vention, including— 

19 (i) to prevent COVID–19 cases among 

20 incarcerated persons— 

21 (I) implementing social distanc22 ing strategies to increase the physical 

23 space between incarcerated persons, 

24 which, to the extent practicable, shall 


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1 be 6 feet between all individuals, re2 gardless of symptoms; 

3 (II) minimizing the mixing of in4 dividuals from different housing units; 

5 and 

6 (III) providing up-to-date infor7 mation about COVID–19 to incarcer8 ated persons; 

9 (ii) to prevent COVID–19 cases 

10 among correctional facility staff— 

11 (I) reminding staff to stay at 

12 home if they are sick; 

13 (II) performing verbal screening 

14 and temperature checks for all staff 

15 daily upon entry; and 

16 (III) providing up-to-date infor17 mation about COVID–19 to staff, in18 cluding information about sick leave 

19 policies; and 

20 (iii) to prevent COVID–19 cases 

21 among visitors— 

22 (I) communicating with potential 

23 visitors to discourage contact visits; 


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1 (II) conducting verbal screenings 

2 and temperature checks for visitors, 

3 and requiring face coverings; and 

4 (III) promoting non-contact visits 

5 and providing access to free virtual 

6 visitation options; 

7 (C) information on steps that have been 

8 and continue to be taken with respect to 

9 COVID–19 case management, including— 

10 (i) with respect to infection control, 

11 ensuring proper infection control protocols 

12 are in place; 

13 (ii) with respect to medical isolation— 

14 (I) placing incarcerated individ15 uals with confirmed or suspected 

16 cases of COVID–19 in medical isola17 tion; 

18 (II) ensuring that medical isola19 tion for COVID–19 is distinct from 

20 punitive solitary confinement; 

21 (III) keeping to an absolute min22 imum the movement outside the med23 ical isolation space of incarcerated in24 dividuals with confirmed or suspected 

25 cases of COVID–19; and 


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1 (IV) safely cohorting, if nec2 essary, COVID–19-infected incarcer3 ated individuals; and 

4 (iii) with respect to provision of 

5 care— 

6 (I) ensuring that incarcerated 

7 persons receive medical evaluation and 

8 treatment at the first signs of 

9 COVID–19 symptoms, including in 

10 cases where a facility is not able to 

11 provide such evaluation and treatment 

12 onsite; 

13 (II) providing incarcerated indi14 viduals with onsite healthcare; and 

15 (III) providing incarcerated indi16 viduals with healthcare services in the 

17 community, as necessary; and 

18 (D) all other aspects of the Interim Guid19 ance; 

20 (2) the process for determining which incarcer21 ated persons qualify for home confinement, including 

22 listing every factor that is taken into consideration, 

23 and how the factors are weighed to determine quali24 fication, including— 


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1 (A) how many incarcerated persons have 

2 been reviewed for home confinement; 

3 (B) how many incarcerated persons have 

4 qualified for and have been moved into home 

5 confinement, and the average length of time be6 tween review, approval, and transfer; 

7 (C) how the prior convictions of an incar8 cerated person are used to determine who quali9 fies for home confinement, including whether 

10 certain convictions are weighed more heavily 

11 than others, and whether a prior conviction re12 gardless of severity automatically bars an incar13 cerated person from qualifying for home con14 finement; and 

15 (D) demographic data of the incarcerated 

16 persons who are considered for home confine17 ment and of the incarcerated persons who are 

18 ultimately chosen for home confinement, 

19 disaggregated by age, race, gender, ethnicity, 

20 level of offense, how much time remains on 

21 their sentence, and whether the individual is 

22 high risk for COVID–19; 

23 (3) the process for determining which incarcer24 ated persons qualify for compassionate release, in25 cluding listing every factor that is taken into considVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2293.IH H2293

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1 eration, and how the factors are weighed to deter2 mine qualification, including— 

3 (A) how many incarcerated persons have 

4 been reviewed for compassionate release; 

5 (B) how many incarcerated persons have 

6 qualified for compassionate release, 

7 disaggregated by compassionate releases ap8 proved by the Bureau of Prisons and compas9 sionate releases granted by courts, and the av10 erage length of time between review, approval, 

11 and release; 

12 (C) how the prior convictions of an incar13 cerated person are used to determine who quali14 fies for compassionate release, including wheth15 er certain convictions are weighed more heavily 

16 than others, and whether a prior conviction re17 gardless of severity automatically bars an incar18 cerated person from qualifying for compas19 sionate release; and 

20 (D) demographic data of the incarcerated 

21 persons who are considered for compassionate 

22 release and of the incarcerated persons who are 

23 ultimately chosen for compassionate release, 

24 disaggregated by age, race, gender, ethnicity, 


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1 level of offense, and how much time remains on 

2 their sentence; 

3 (4) the process of providing information to fam4 ilies and emergency contacts of incarcerated persons 

5 who have tested positive for COVID–19, including 

6 how long it takes on average for families and emer7 gency contacts to be notified after initial diagnosis, 

8 and how often facilities follow up with families and 

9 emergency contacts to update them on the health 

10 condition of the incarcerated person; 

11 (5) resource limitations, if any, that have inhib12 ited the ability of the Department of Justice and 

13 Bureau of Prisons to fully implement the Centers 

14 for Disease Control and Prevention’s Interim Guide15 lines; and 

16 (6) what actions are being taken to modernize 

17 the electronic health records systems of the Bureau 

18 of Prisons. 

Æ 


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