I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5279 

To require the Bureau of Prisons to submit to Congress an annual summary 

report of disaster damage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 25, 2023 

Mr. LIEU (for himself, Ms. MACE, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following 

bill; which was 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 2023’’. 

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 


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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) causes physical damage to the facility 

6 or disrupts services under paragraph (2), (4), 

7 (5), or (6) of section 3(a); and 

8 (B) the Bureau of Prisons determines is a 

9 major disaster. 

10 SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT 

11 OF DISASTER DAMAGE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of 

13 Prisons shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations, 

14 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on 

15 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen16 ate and the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee 

17 on the Judiciary, the Committee on Homeland Security 

18 of the House of Representatives, the Government Account19 ability Office, and the Office of the Inspector General of 

20 the Department of Justice an annual summary report of 

21 disaster damage on the scope of physical damage from a 

22 major disaster by each Bureau of Prisons facility and its 

23 contract prisons impacted or struck by a major disaster 

24 that explains the effects of the damage on inmates and 

25 staff, including— 


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

2 and staff; 

3 (2) access to health and medical care, food, spe4 cial dietary needs, drinkable water, personal protec5 tive equipment, and personal hygiene products; 

6 (3) guidance used to adjudicate early release or 

7 home confinement requests, data on early release or 

8 home confinement approvals, denials, and justifica9 tion for denials; 

10 (4) an explanation as to whether using home 

11 confinement or early release was considered; 

12 (5) access to cost-free and uninterrupted visita13 tion with legal counsel and visitors with justifica14 tions for facility decisions that resulted in suspended 

15 or altered visitations; 

16 (6) access to appropriate accommodations for 

17 inmates with disabilities; 

18 (7) access to educational and work programs; 

19 (8) inmate grievances; 

20 (9) assessment of the cost of the damage to the 

21 facility and estimates for repairs; 

22 (10) the impact on staffing, equipment, and fi23 nancial resources; and 

24 (11) other factors relating to the ability of the 

25 Bureau of Prisons and any existing contract prison 


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

2 correctional population. 

3 (b) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The report re4 quired under subsection (a) shall include agency corrective 

5 actions that the Bureau of Prisons will take to improve 

6 and modernize emergency preparedness plans, as they re7 late to natural disasters, extreme weather, and public 

8 health emergencies and a timeline to implement the cor9 rective action plan. 

10 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report required under 

11 subsection (a) shall include specific legislative rec12 ommendations to Congress for improving emergency pre13 paredness plans within the Bureau of Prisons. 

14 (d) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

15 enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Pris16 ons shall appoint an official of the Bureau of Prisons re17 sponsible for carrying out the corrective action plan. 

18 SEC. 4. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS. 

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

20 amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (c)— 

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

23 by striking ‘‘ten’’ and inserting ‘‘14’’; and 

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


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

2 a Federal or State correctional facility or have a 

3 professional background advocating on the behalf of 

4 formerly incarcerated or incarcerated individuals. 

5 ‘‘(4) One shall have a background as an emer6 gency response coordinator that has created an 

7 emergency management accreditation program. 

8 ‘‘(5) One shall have an educational and profes9 sional background in public health working with 

10 communicable diseases. 

11 ‘‘(6) One shall represent the labor union that 

12 represents Bureau of Prisons employees.’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(i) FIELD HEARING.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of enactment of this subsection, the National In16 stitute of Corrections shall conduct at least one public field 

17 hearing on how correctional facilities can incorporate in 

18 their emergency preparedness plans and recovery efforts— 

19 ‘‘(1) inmate access to medical care, food, drink20 able water, personal protective equipment, and per21 sonal hygiene products; 

22 ‘‘(2) consideration by staff of using home con23 finement or early release; 

24 ‘‘(3) inmate access to cost-free and uninter25 rupted visitation with legal counsel and visitors with 


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1 clear standards for when facilities may suspend or 

2 alter visitations; 

3 ‘‘(4) inmate access to appropriate accommoda4 tions for inmates with disabilities; 

5 ‘‘(5) use of Federal funding to restore disaster6 damaged correctional facilities; and 

7 ‘‘(6) incorporation by staff of risk management 

8 best practices, such as those made available under 

9 the relevant agencies of the Federal Emergency 

10 Management Administration, Department of Health 

11 and Human Services, and the Government Account12 ability Office to enhance emergency preparedness 

13 plans.’’. 

Æ 


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