II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2592 

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 

AUGUST 3, 2021 

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 2021’’. 

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 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2592 IS

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) would activate the use of any Bureau 

6 of Prisons 18 contingency plans; and 

7 (B) the Bureau of Prisons determines is a 

8 major disaster. 

9 SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT 

10 OF DISASTER DAMAGE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Prisons shall sub12 mit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee 

13 on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Homeland Secu14 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com15 mittee on Appropriations, the Committee on the Judiciary, 

16 and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

17 of Representatives an annual summary report of disaster 

18 damage on the scope of physical damage from a major 

19 disaster by each Bureau of Prisons facility and its con20 tract prisons impacted or struck by a major disaster that 

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

22 including— 

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

24 and staff; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2592 IS

1 (2) access to health and medical care, food, spe2 cial dietary needs, drinkable water, personal protec3 tive equipment, and personal hygiene products; 

4 (3) guidance used to adjudicate early release or 

5 home confinement requests, data on early release or 

6 home confinement approvals, denials, and justifica7 tion for denials; explanation as to whether using 

8 home confinement or early release was considered; 

9 (4) access to cost-free and uninterrupted visita10 tion with legal counsel and visitors with justifica11 tions for facility decisions that resulted in suspended 

12 or altered visitations; 

13 (5) access to appropriate accommodations for 

14 inmates with disabilities; 

15 (6) access to educational and work programs; 

16 (7) inmate grievances; 

17 (8) assessment of the cost of the damage to the 

18 facility and estimates for repairs; 

19 (9) the impact on staffing, equipment, and fi20 nancial resources; and 

21 (10) other factors relating to the ability of the 

22 Bureau of Prisons and any existing contract prison 

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

24 correctional population. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2592 IS

1 (b) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The report re2 quired under subsection (a) shall include agency corrective 

3 actions that the Bureau of Prisons will take to improve 

4 and modernize emergency preparedness plans, as they re5 late to natural disasters, extreme weather, and public 

6 health emergencies and (b) a timeline to implement the 

7 corrective action plan. 

8 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report required under 

9 subsection (a) shall include specific legislative rec10 ommendations to Congress for improving emergency pre11 paredness plans within the Bureau of Prisons. 

12 (d) APPOINTMENT.—No later than 90 days after the 

13 enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Pris14 ons shall appoint an official of the Bureau of Prisons re15 sponsible for carrying out the corrective action plan. 

16 SEC. 4. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS. 

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

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (c)— 

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

21 by striking ‘‘ten’’ and inserting ‘‘13’’; and 

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

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

24 a Federal or State correctional facility or have a 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2592 IS

1 professional background advocating on the behalf of 

2 formerly incarcerated or incarcerated individuals. 

3 ‘‘(4) One shall have a background as an emer4 gency response coordinator that has created an 

5 emergency management accreditation program. 

6 ‘‘(5) One shall have an educational and profes7 sional background in public health working with 

8 communicable diseases.’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(2) FIELD HEARING.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

12 National Institute of Corrections shall conduct at 

13 least one public field hearing on how correctional fa14 cilities can incorporate in their emergency prepared15 ness plans and recovery efforts— 

16 ‘‘(A) inmate access to medical care, food, 

17 drinkable water, personal protective equipment, 

18 and personal hygiene products; 

19 ‘‘(B) consideration by staff of using home 

20 confinement or early release; 

21 ‘‘(C) inmate access to cost-free and unin22 terrupted visitation with legal counsel and visi23 tors with clear standards for when facilities 

24 may suspend or alter visitations; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2592 IS

1 ‘‘(D) inmate access to appropriate accom2 modations for inmates with disabilities; 

3 ‘‘(E) use of Federal funding to restore dis4 aster-damaged correctional facilities; and 

5 ‘‘(F) incorporation by staff of risk manage6 ment best practices, such as those made avail7 able under the relevant agencies of the Federal 

8 Emergency Management Administration, De9 partment of Health and Human Services, and 

10 the Government Accountability Office to en11 hance emergency preparedness plans.’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS