Emergency Assistance to the District of Columbia Department

of Corrections in Case of a Work Stoppage

U nder 31 U .S.C. § 685a(a), w hich au thorizes federal agencies to p rovide services on a 

contractu al basis to the D istrict o f C olum bia g overnm ent, the A tto rn ey G en eral may 

provide B ureau o f Prisons personnel to the D istrict o f C olum bia D epartm ent o f 

C o rrectio n s in th e event o f a w o rk stoppage by D epartm ent em ployees.

December 22, 1980

MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY 

GENERAL, CRIMINAL DIVISION

This responds to your request for our opinion whether the Attorney 

General may, if requested to do so by the Mayor of Washington, D.C., 

provide Bureau of Prisons (BOP) personnel to the District of Columbia 

Department of Corrections in the event of a work stoppage by Department employees. We have concluded that the Attorney General does 

have the authority to provide such assistance.

The federal government is authorized to furnish services to the District of Columbia government. 31 U.S.C. § 685a(a).1 Requiring explicit 

statutory authorization for each agency’s rendering of services to the 

District of Columbia would render this statute superfluous. Unless, 

therefore, there is some impediment in the BOP’s regulations to providing such services which is itself based upon a statutory prohibition, the 

statute would permit the Mayor and BOP to negotiate a contract, 

subject to the approval of the Office of Management and Budget and 

the Mayor.

BOP, a part of the Department of Justice, is charged with guarding 

federal prisoners. 18 U.S.C. §4042(2), (3); 28 C.F.R. § 0.95(b), (c). The

1 T he provision, which is also found a! D.C. Code Ann. § 1-826 (Supp. V 1978), states:

(a) F o r the purpose of preventing duplication o f effort or for the purpose of 

otherw ise prom oting efficiency and econom y, any Federal officer or agency may 

furnish services to the District governm ent and any District officer or agency may 

furnish services to the Federal Governm ent. Except w here the terms and conditions 

governing the furnishing of such services are prescribed by other provisions o f law, 

such services shall be furnished pursuant to an agreem ent (1) negotiated by the Federal 

and District authorities concerned, and (2) approved by the Federal Office o f M anagement and Budget and by the Mayor.

* * * * • *

(c) T he cost of each Federal officer and agency in furnishing services to the District 

pursuant to any such agreem ent are [sic] authorized to be paid, in accordance with the 

terms o f the agreem ent, out o f appropriations available to the District officers and 

agencies to which such services are furnished.

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Attorney General’s authority to control and manage federal prisons, 18 

U.S.C. § 4001(b)(1), has been delegated to the Director of the BOP. 28 

C.F.R. § 0.95(a). We are advised that there have been only two incidents in the recent past in which BOP personnel have been assigned to 

work away from their normal post. One occurred during an antiwar 

demonstration when personnel from Lewisburg Prison and the central 

Washington, D.C. office were used to man a federal detention center 

set up in the District of Columbia. In the other, personnel from the 

central office were sent to Danbury Prison because of a threatened 

work stoppage.

The Master Agreement between the BOP and its guards’ union 

reserves to BOP the right “(1) to direct employees of the Federal 

Prison System; (2) to . . . transfer [and] assign . . . employees . . . and 

(6) to take whatever actions may be necessary to carry out the mission 

of the Federal Prison System in situations of emergency.” Article 5, 9a. 

See also Article 18, § m. The authority, therefore, to transfer guards to 

temporary duties in time of emergency does exist.

L a r r y L . S im m s

Deputy Assistant Attorney General

Office o f Legal Counsel

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