I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5042 

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by and 

with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2016 

Mr. WALBERG (for himself and Mrs. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be 

appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

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 Prisons Ac5 countability Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons leads 

9 a law enforcement component of the Department of 


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1 Justice with a budget that exceeds $6,900,000,000 

2 for fiscal year 2015. 

3 (2) With the exception of the Federal Bureau 

4 of Investigation, the Bureau of Prisons has the larg5 est operating budget of any unit within the Depart6 ment of Justice. 

7 (3) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons over8 sees 122 facilities and is responsible for the welfare 

9 of more than 208,000 Federal inmates. 

10 (4) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons su11 pervises more than 39,000 employees, many of 

12 whom operate in hazardous environments that in13 volve regular interaction with violent offenders. 

14 (5) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons also 

15 serves as the chief operating officer for Federal Pris16 ons Industries, a wholly owned Government enter17 prise of 78 prison factories that directly competes 

18 against the private sector, including small busi19 nesses, for Government contracts. 

20 (6) Within the Department of Justice, in addi21 tion to those officials who oversee litigating compo22 nents, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, To23 bacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Director of the 

24 Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Director of the 

25 Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Director of the 


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1 Community Relations Service, the Director of the 

2 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the 

3 National Institute of Justice, the Director of the Of4 fice for Victims of Crime, the Director of the Office 

5 on Violence Against Women, the Administrator of 

6 the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Deputy 

7 Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administra8 tion, the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile 

9 Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Director of 

10 the United States Marshals Service, 94 United 

11 States Marshals, the Inspector General of the De12 partment of Justice, and the Special Counsel for Im13 migration Related Unfair Employment Practices, are 

14 all appointed by the President by and with the ad15 vice and consent of the Senate. 

16 (7) Despite the significant budget of the Bu17 reau of Prisons and the vast number of people under 

18 the responsibility of the Director of the Bureau of 

19 Prisons, the Director is not appointed by and with 

20 the advice and consent of the Senate. 

21 SEC. 3. DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF PRISONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4041 of title 18, United 

23 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘appointed by and 

24 serving directly under the Attorney General.’’ and insert25 ing the following: ‘‘who shall be appointed by the PresiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:17 May 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5042.IH H5042

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1 dent by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

2 The Director shall serve directly under the Attorney Gen3 eral.’’. 

4 (b) INCUMBENT.—Notwithstanding the amendment 

5 made by subsection (a), the individual serving as the Di6 rector of the Bureau of Prisons on the date of enactment 

7 of this Act may serve as the Director of the Bureau of 

8 Prisons until the date that is 3 months after the date of 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

11 shall be construed to limit the ability of the President to 

12 appoint the individual serving as the Director of the Bu13 reau of Prisons on the date of enactment of this Act to 

14 the position of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons in 

15 accordance with section 4041 of title 18, United States 

16 Code, as amended by subsection (a). 

17 (d) TERM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4041 of title 18, 

19 United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), 

20 is amended by inserting after ‘‘consent of the Sen21 ate.’’ the following: ‘‘The Director shall be appointed 

22 for a term of 10 years, except that an individual ap23 pointed to the position of Director may continue to 

24 serve in that position until another individual is ap25 pointed to that position, by and with the advice and 


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1 consent of the Senate. An individual may not serve 

2 more than 1 term as Director.’’. 

3 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

4 paragraph (1) shall apply to appointments made on 

5 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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