I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6985 

To require the Bureau of Prisons to issue identification documents to 

prisoners being released from Federal custody, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2024 

Mr. TRONE (for himself, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. MORAN, Ms. DEAN of 

Pennsylvania, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. FITZPATRICK, 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. CRENSHAW, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. MFUME, Mr. BACON, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, and Mr. MCCLINTOCK) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Bureau of Prisons to issue identification 

documents to prisoners being released from Federal custody, 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 ‘‘BOP Release Card 

5 ID Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS FOR PRISONERS 

2 BEING RELEASED. 

3 (a) PRISONERS BEING RELEASED FROM FEDERAL

4 CUSTODY.—Section 4042 of title 18, United States Code, 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub7 section (e); and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(d) IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS.—Not later 

12 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the 

13 BOP Release Card ID Act of 2024, the Director 

14 shall issue a photo identification release card that 

15 meets the minimum standards under section 202(b) 

16 of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301(b) 

17 note) to each prisoner who is a citizen of the United 

18 States and is being released from custody from a fa19 cility of the Bureau of Prisons. 

20 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF VALIDITY.—A photo identifica21 tion release card shall be valid for not less than 18 

22 months after the date on which the prisoner to 

23 whom the card is issued is released from custody. 

24 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTANCE OF PHOTO IDENTIFICATION

25 RELEASE CARD FOR STATE IDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall ne2 gotiate with each State to establish a system 

3 under which a prisoner may use a photo identi4 fication release card to obtain identification 

5 from the State. 

6 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of enactment of the BOP Release 

8 Card ID Act of 2024, and every year there9 after, the Director shall submit to the Com10 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

11 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

12 Representatives a report on the progress of the 

13 Director in negotiating agreements under sub14 paragraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(4) ACCEPTANCE OF PHOTO IDENTIFICATION

16 RELEASE CARD FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND BY

17 FEDERAL AGENCIES.—A photo identification release 

18 card shall be accepted as proof of the identity of the 

19 former prisoner to whom the card relates for pur20 poses of— 

21 ‘‘(A) the old-age, survivors, and disability 

22 insurance benefits program established under 

23 title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 401 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Medicaid program established 

2 under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(C) the Medicare program established 

5 under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.); 

7 ‘‘(D) any other program, project, or activ8 ity of the Department of Health and Human 

9 Services; 

10 ‘‘(E) the supplemental nutrition assistance 

11 program established under the Food and Nutri12 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 

13 ‘‘(F) any program, project, or activity 

14 funded by the temporary assistance for needy 

15 families program under part A of title IV of the 

16 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

17 ‘‘(G) any program, project, or activity of 

18 the Office of Probation and Pretrial Services of 

19 the Administrative Office of the United States 

20 Courts; 

21 ‘‘(H) any program, project, or activity of 

22 the Court Services and Offender Supervision 

23 Agency for the District of Columbia; 

24 ‘‘(I) any program, project, or activity of 

25 the Department of Education; 


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1 ‘‘(J) any program, project, or activity of 

2 the Department of Housing and Urban Devel3 opment; 

4 ‘‘(K) any program, project, or activity of 

5 the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 

6 ‘‘(L) any requirement for an individual to 

7 present an identification document to obtain 

8 entry into a Federal building. 

9 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

10 this subsection may be construed to satisfy the re11 quirement for the Bureau of Prisons to establish 

12 prerelease planning procedures under subsection 

13 (a)(6). 

14 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Director’ means the Direc16 tor of the Bureau of Prisons; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the term ‘State’ means each of the 

18 several States of the United States, the District 

19 of Columbia, and any commonwealth or terri20 tory of the United States.’’. 

21 (b) GUIDANCE FOR STATES.— 

22 (1) GUIDANCE.—Not later than one year after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

24 General shall issue guidance for States regarding the 

25 issuance of photo identification release cards for 


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1 prisoners being released from custody of a correc2 tional facility of the State. 

3 (2) STATE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 

4 term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States of 

5 the United States, the District of Columbia, and any 

6 commonwealth or territory of the United States. 

Æ 


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