II 

Calendar No. 68 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 312 

To expand eligibility for and provide judicial review for the Elderly Home 

Detention Pilot Program, provide for compassionate release based on 

COVID–19 vulnerability, shorten the waiting period for judicial review 

during the COVID–19 pandemic, and make other technical corrections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2021 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. 

COONS, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

JUNE 8, 2021 

Reported by Mr. DURBIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To expand eligibility for and provide judicial review for the 

Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program, provide for compassionate release based on COVID–19 vulnerability, 

shorten the waiting period for judicial review during the 

COVID–19 pandemic, and make other technical corrections. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Safer De3 tention Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF COVERED EMERGENCY PERIOD. 

5 Section 12003(a)(2) of the CARES Act (18 U.S.C. 

6 3621 note) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘ending on the date’’ and insert8 ing the following: ‘‘ending on the later of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the date’’; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, by 

11 striking the ‘‘and’’ at the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; 

12 and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) the date that is 30 days after the 

15 date on which the Bureau of Prisons ceases 

16 modified operations in response to COVID–19; 

17 and’’. 

18 SEC. 3. HOME DETENTION FOR CERTAIN ELDERLY NON19 VIOLENT OFFENDERS. 

20 Section 231(g) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 

21 U.S.C. 60541(g)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(D) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

25 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon motion of a 

26 defendant, on or after the date described 


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1 in clause (ii), a court may reduce an im2 posed term of imprisonment of the defend3 ant and substitute a term of supervised re4 lease with the condition of home detention 

5 for the unserved portion of the original 

6 term of imprisonment, after considering 

7 the factors set forth in section 3553(a) of 

8 title 18, United States Code, if the court 

9 finds the defendant is an eligible elderly of10 fender or eligible terminally ill offender. 

11 ‘‘(ii) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date de12 scribed in this clause is the earlier of— 

13 ‘‘(I) the date on which the de14 fendant fully exhausts all administra15 tive rights to appeal a failure of the 

16 Bureau of Prisons to place the de17 fendant on home detention; or 

18 ‘‘(II) the expiration of the 30-day 

19 period beginning on the date on which 

20 the defendant submits to the warden 

21 of the facility in which the defendant 

22 is imprisoned a request for placement 

23 of the defendant on home detention, 

24 regardless of the status of the re25 quest.’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

3 (i) by inserting ‘‘including offenses 

4 under the laws of the District of Colum5 bia,’’ after ‘‘offense or offenses,’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘2/3 of the term of im7 prisonment to which the offender was sen8 tenced’’ and inserting ‘‘1/2 of the term of 

9 imprisonment reduced by any credit to10 ward the service of the offender’s sentence 

11 awarded under section 3624(b) of title 18, 

12 United States Code’’; and 

13 (B) in subparagraph (D)(i), by inserting ‘‘, 

14 including offenses under the laws of the District 

15 of Columbia,’’ after ‘‘offense or offenses,’’. 

16 SEC. 4. COMPASSIONATE RELEASE TECHNICAL CORREC17 TION. 

18 Section 3582 of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (c)(1)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A), by inserting after ‘‘case’’ the following: ‘‘, 

23 including, notwithstanding any other provision 

24 of law, any case involving an offense committed 

25 before November 1, 1987’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

2 (i) by inserting ‘‘, on or after the date 

3 described in subsection (d)’’ after ‘‘upon 

4 motion of a defendant’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘after the defendant 

6 has fully exhausted all administrative 

7 rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of 

8 Prisons to bring a motion on the defend9 ant’s behalf or the lapse of 30 days from 

10 the receipt of such a request by the warden 

11 of the defendant’s facility, whichever is 

12 earlier,’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

14 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

15 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(d) DATE DESCRIBED.—For purposes of subsection 

18 (c)(1)(A), the date described in this subsection is the ear19 lier of— 

20 ‘‘(1) the date on which the defendant fully ex21 hausts all administrative rights to appeal a failure of 

22 the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the de23 fendant’s behalf; or 

24 ‘‘(2) the expiration of the 30-day period begin25 ning on the date on which the defendant submits a 


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1 request for a reduction in sentence to the warden of 

2 the facility in which the defendant is imprisoned, re3 gardless of the status of the request.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. TEMPORARY SHORTENING OF ADMINISTRATIVE EX5 HAUSTION. 

6 Section 12003 of the CARES Act (18 U.S.C. 3621 

7 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) COMPASSIONATE RELEASE.—For purposes of a 

9 motion filed under section 3582(c)(1) of title 18, United 

10 States Code, during the covered emergency period— 

11 ‘‘(1) the 30-day waiting period requirement in 

12 section 3582(d)(2) shall be reduced to not more 

13 than 10 days; and 

14 ‘‘(2) in the case of a defendant who is, accord15 ing to guidance from the Centers for Disease Con16 trol and Prevention, considered to be at a higher 

17 risk for severe illness from COVID–19, including be18 cause the defendant is 60 years of age or older or 

19 has an underlying medical condition, such risk shall 

20 be considered to be an extraordinary and compelling 

21 reason under subparagraph (A)(i) of such section 

22 3582(c)(1). 

23 ‘‘(f) NONVIOLENT ELDERLY OFFENDERS.—For the 

24 purpose of a motion filed under subparagraph (D) of sec25 tion 231(g)(1) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 


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1 U.S.C. 60541(g)(1)), during the covered emergency pe2 riod, the 30-day waiting period requirement clause (ii)(II) 

3 of such subparagraph (D) shall be reduced to 10 days.’’. 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Safer Deten6 tion Act of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF COVERED EMERGENCY PERIOD. 

8 Section 12003(a)(2) of the CARES Act (18 U.S.C. 

9 3621 note) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘ending on the date’’ and insert11 ing the following: ‘‘ending on the later of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the date’’; 

13 (2) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, by 

14 striking the ‘‘and’’ at the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) the earlier of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the date that is 30 days after the 

18 date on which the Bureau ceases modified 

19 operations in response to COVID–19; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 90 days after the 

21 date described in subparagraph (A); and’’. 

22 SEC. 3. HOME DETENTION FOR CERTAIN ELDERLY NON23 VIOLENT OFFENDERS. 

24 Section 231(g) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 

25 U.S.C. 60541(g)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(D) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon motion of a 

5 defendant, on or after the date described in 

6 clause (ii), after imposing a term of impris7 onment, a court may reduce the imposed 

8 term of imprisonment of the defendant and 

9 substitute a term of supervised release with 

10 the condition of home detention for the 

11 unserved portion of the original term of im12 prisonment, after considering the factors set 

13 forth in section 3553(a) of title 18, United 

14 States Code, if the court finds the defendant 

15 is an eligible elderly offender or eligible ter16 minally ill offender. 

17 ‘‘(ii) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date de18 scribed in this clause is the earlier of— 

19 ‘‘(I) the date on which the defend20 ant fully exhausts all administrative 

21 rights to appeal a failure of the Bu22 reau of Prisons to place the defendant 

23 on home detention; or 

24 ‘‘(II) the expiration of the 30-day 

25 period beginning on the date on which 


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1 the defendant submits to the warden of 

2 the facility in which the defendant is 

3 imprisoned a request for placement of 

4 the defendant on home detention, re5 gardless of the status of the request. 

6 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON MOTIONS.—If a 

7 defendant’s motion filed under this subpara8 graph is denied, the defendant may not file 

9 another motion under this subparagraph 

10 until the date that is 90 days after the date 

11 on which the motion was denied. 

12 ‘‘(iv) RIGHT TO COUNSEL.—The court 

13 may appoint a Federal public defender or 

14 community defender, or other counsel quali15 fied to be appointed under section 3006A of 

16 title 18, United States Code, to assist a de17 fendant seeking relief under this subpara18 graph. 

19 ‘‘(v) APPLICABILITY OF CRIME VICTIMS’ 

20 RIGHTS ACT.—Section 3771 of title 18, 

21 United States Code (commonly known as 

22 the ‘Crime Victims’ Rights Act’), shall 

23 apply to any proceeding under this sub24 paragraph.’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4), in the first sentence, by in2 serting after ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ the following: ‘‘, includ3 ing the number of offenders released pursuant to judi4 cial review under paragraph (1)(D)’’; and 

5 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘, including offenses 

8 under the laws of the District of Columbia,’’ 

9 after ‘‘offense or offenses’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘to which the offender 

11 was sentenced’’ and inserting ‘‘reduced by 

12 any credit toward the service of the offend13 er’s sentence awarded under section 3624(b) 

14 of title 18, United States Code’’; and 

15 (B) in subparagraph (D)(i), by inserting ‘‘, 

16 including offenses under the laws of the District 

17 of Columbia,’’ after ‘‘offense or offenses’’. 

18 SEC. 4. COMPASSIONATE RELEASE TECHNICAL CORREC19 TION. 

20 Section 3582 of title 18, United States Code, is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in subsection (c)(1)— 

23 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

24 (A), by inserting after ‘‘case’’ the following: ‘‘, 

25 including, notwithstanding any other provision 


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1 of law, any case involving an offense committed 

2 before November 1, 1987’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘, on or after the date 

5 described in subsection (d)’’ after ‘‘upon mo6 tion of a defendant’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘after the defendant 

8 has fully exhausted all administrative rights 

9 to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons 

10 to bring a motion on the defendant’s behalf 

11 or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of 

12 such a request by the warden of the defend13 ant’s facility, whichever is earlier,’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

15 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(d) DATE DESCRIBED.—For purposes of subsection 

19 (c)(1)(A), the date described in this subsection is the earlier 

20 of— 

21 ‘‘(1) the date on which the defendant fully ex22 hausts all administrative rights to appeal a failure of 

23 the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the de24 fendant’s behalf; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) the expiration of the 30-day period begin2 ning on the date on which the defendant submits a 

3 request for a reduction in sentence to the warden of 

4 the facility in which the defendant is imprisoned, re5 gardless of the status of the request.’’; and 

6 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(g) RIGHT TO COUNSEL.—The court may appoint a 

8 Federal public defender or community defender, or other 

9 counsel qualified to be appointed under section 3006A to 

10 assist a defendant seeking relief under this section. 

11 ‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY OF CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS

12 ACT.—Section 3771 (commonly known as the ‘Crime Vic13 tims’ Rights Act’) shall apply to any proceeding under this 

14 section.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. TEMPORARY SHORTENING OF ADMINISTRATIVE EX16 HAUSTION. 

17 Section 12003 of the CARES Act (18 U.S.C. 3621 

18 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(e) COMPASSIONATE RELEASE.—For purposes of a 

20 motion filed under section 3582(c)(1) of title 18, United 

21 States Code, during the covered emergency period— 

22 ‘‘(1) the 30-day waiting period requirement in 

23 section 3582(d)(2) shall be reduced to not more than 

24 10 days; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of a defendant who is, according 

2 to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and 

3 Prevention, considered to be at a higher risk for severe 

4 illness from COVID–19, including because the defend5 ant is 60 years of age or older or has an underlying 

6 medical condition, such risk shall be considered to be 

7 an extraordinary and compelling reason under sub8 paragraph (A)(i) of such section 3582(c)(1). 

9 ‘‘(f) NONVIOLENT ELDERLY OFFENDERS.—For the 

10 purpose of a motion filed under subparagraph (D) of section 

11 231(g)(1) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 

12 60541(g)(1)), during the covered emergency period, the 30- 

13 day waiting period requirement clause (ii)(II) of such sub14 paragraph (D) shall be reduced to 10 days. 

15 ‘‘(g) APPLICABILITY OF CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS

16 ACT.—Section 3771 of title 18, United States Code (com17 monly known as the ‘Crime Victims’ Rights Act’), shall 

18 apply to any proceeding under subsection (e) or (f).’’. 

19 SEC. 6. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE 

20 UNITED STATES. 

21 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

22 States shall conduct a study on Federal post-release, proba23 tion, and pretrial services, including, at a minimum, an 

24 evaluation of changes made to operational practices as a 

25 result of COVID–19 and recent statutory changes preceding 


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1 the date of enactment of this Act, such as how pretrial and 

2 post-release supervision is conducted, the impact on officer 

3 caseloads, overtime hours reported or worked by officers, 

4 and the process for transitioning an individual from the 

5 custody of the Bureau of Prisons United States Probation 

6 and Pretrial Services personnel. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall submit a report on the results of the study con10 ducted under subsection (a) to the Committee on the Judici11 ary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

12 the House of Representatives. 

13 SEC. 7. DIRECTIVE TO ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE 

14 UNITED STATES COURTS. 

15 The Administrative Office of the United States Courts 

16 shall, as part of the first budget request or re-estimate sub17 mitted to Congress after the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 include a request for resources to address staffing needs in 

19 each judicial district of the United States, including any 

20 additional resources that may be necessary as a result of 

21 this Act and the amendments made by this Act for staffing 

22 and overtime pay. 


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Calendar No. 68 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 312 

A BILL 

To expand eligibility for and provide judicial review 

pandemic, and make other technical corrections. riod for judicial review during the COVID–19 COVID–19 vulnerability, shorten the waiting peprovide for compassionate release based on for the Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program, 

JUNE 8, 2021 

Reported with an amendment 


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