I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1535

To amend title 18, United States Code, to authorize pilot projects under

which private companies in the United States may use Federal inmate

labor to produce items that would otherwise be produced by foreign

labor, to revise the authorities and operations of Federal Prison Industries, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. WOLF introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to authorize pilot

projects under which private companies in the United

States may use Federal inmate labor to produce items

that would otherwise be produced by foreign labor, to

revise the authorities and operations of Federal Prison

Industries, 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 ‘‘Federal Inmate Work

5 Act of 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO CARRY OUT PILOT PROJECTS USING

2 FEDERAL INMATE LABOR TO REPLACE FOR3 EIGN LABOR.

4 (a) FOREIGN LABOR SUBSTITUTE PILOT PROJECTS

5 AUTHORIZED.—Chapter 85 of title 18, United States

6 Code, is amended in section 1761—

7 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘This chap8 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘This section’’;

9 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘this chapter’’

10 and inserting ‘‘this section’’;

11 (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub12 section (f); and

13 (4) by adding after subsection (c) the following

14 new subsections:

15 ‘‘(d) This section shall not apply to goods, wares, or

16 merchandise manufactured, produced, or mined by con17 victs or prisoners who are participating in industrial oper18 ations of Federal Prison Industries.

19 ‘‘(e) This section shall not apply to goods, wares, or

20 merchandise manufactured, produced, or mined by con21 victs or prisoners who are participating in any pilot project

22 approved as a foreign labor substitute by the Foreign

23 Labor Substitute Panel established under section 1762.’’.

24 (b) FOREIGN LABOR SUBSTITUTE PANEL.—(1) Sec25 tion 1762 of such chapter is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 1762. Foreign Labor Substitute Panel

2 ‘‘(a) The Attorney General shall establish a panel to

3 be known as the Foreign Labor Substitute Panel (in this

4 section referred to as the ‘Panel’).

5 ‘‘(b) The Panel shall be composed of eight members,

6 each of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the Attorney

7 General, and who shall be appointed by the Attorney Gen8 eral as follows:

9 ‘‘(1) One member who shall be an officer, em10 ployee, or other representative of the Department of

11 Commerce.

12 ‘‘(2) One member who shall be an officer, em13 ployee, or other representative of the Department of

14 Labor.

15 ‘‘(3) One member who shall be an officer, em16 ployee, or other representative of the International

17 Trade Commission.

18 ‘‘(4) One member who shall be an officer, em19 ployee, or other representative of the Small Business

20 Administration.

21 ‘‘(5) Two members, each of whom shall be an

22 officer, employee, or other representative of the busi23 ness community.

24 ‘‘(6) Two members, each of whom shall be an

25 officer, employee, or other representative of orga26 nized labor.
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1 ‘‘(c)(1) Members of the Panel shall not receive pay,

2 allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the

3 Panel.

4 ‘‘(2) Each member shall receive travel expenses, in5 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with

6 applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of

7 title 5, United States Code.

8 ‘‘(d) The Panel shall review proposals for pilot

9 projects submitted to the Panel. For each proposal re10 viewed, the Panel shall approve the pilot project as a for11 eign labor substitute if, and only if, the Panel determines

12 that the pilot project specified in the proposal satisfies

13 each of the following requirements:

14 ‘‘(1) The pilot project is to be carried out by

15 one or more private United States companies.

16 ‘‘(2) The goods, wares, or merchandise pro17 posed to be manufactured, produced, or mined whol18 ly or in part by Federal convicts or prisoners under

19 the pilot project would otherwise be manufactured,

20 produced, or mined by foreign labor.

21 ‘‘(e) Any determination of the Panel under subsection

22 (d) shall be made available to the public upon request.’’.

23 (2) In the table of sections at the beginning of such

24 chapter, the item relating to section 1762 is amended to

25 read as follows:

‘‘1762. Foreign Labor Substitute Panel.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. RESTATEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF FEDERAL

2 PRISON INDUSTRIES PROGRAM.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Sections 4121, 4122, and 4123

4 of title 18, United States Code, are amended to read as

5 follows:

6 ‘‘§ 4121. Federal Prison Industries: status, mission,

7 and management

8 ‘‘(a) STATUS.—Federal Prison Industries is a Gov9 ernment corporation. The headquarters of the corporation

10 is in the District of Columbia.

11 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of Federal Prison In12 dustries is to carry out industrial operations in accordance

13 with this chapter using eligible inmate workers.

14 ‘‘(c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—

15 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—Federal Prison Industries

16 is administered by a board of directors composed of

17 12 members appointed by the Attorney General as

18 follows:

19 ‘‘(A) One member appointed from among

20 individuals recommended by the Speaker of the

21 House of Representatives.

22 ‘‘(B) One member appointed from among

23 individuals recommended by the minority leader

24 of the House of Representatives.
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1 ‘‘(C) One member appointed from among

2 individuals recommended by the majority leader

3 of the Senate.

4 ‘‘(D) One member appointed from among

5 individuals recommended by the minority leader

6 of the Senate.

7 ‘‘(E) Two members who shall be represent8 atives of the business community.

9 ‘‘(F) Two members who shall be represent10 atives of organized labor.

11 ‘‘(G) One member who shall be representa12 tive of victims of crime.

13 ‘‘(H) One member who shall be representa14 tive of the prisoner rehabilitation community.

15 ‘‘(I) Two members whose background or

16 expertise the Attorney General considers appro17 priate.

18 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—

19 ‘‘(A) Except as provided in this paragraph,

20 each member shall be appointed for a term of

21 four years.

22 ‘‘(B) As designated by the Attorney Gen23 eral at the time of appointment, of the members

24 first appointed—
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1 ‘‘(i) 3 members shall be appointed for

2 terms of 1 year;

3 ‘‘(ii) 3 members shall be appointed for

4 terms of 2 years;

5 ‘‘(iii) 3 members shall be appointed

6 for terms of 3 years; and

7 ‘‘(iv) 3 members shall be appointed

8 for terms of 4 years.

9 ‘‘(C) Any member appointed to fill a va10 cancy occurring before the expiration of the

11 term for which the member’s predecessor was

12 appointed shall be appointed only for the re13 mainder of that term. A member may serve

14 after the expiration of that member’s term until

15 a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the

16 Board shall be filled in the manner in which the

17 original appointment was made.

18 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board

19 may not receive pay, allowances, or benefits by rea20 son of his or her service on the Board.

21 ‘‘(4) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Board

22 constitutes a quorum but a lesser number may hold

23 hearings.

24 ‘‘(5) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Board is elected

25 by the members.
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1 ‘‘§ 4122. Federal Prison Industries: operating objec2 tives, standards, and requirements

3 ‘‘(a) OPERATING OBJECTIVES.—Federal Prison In4 dustries shall carry out its industrial operations so as to

5 achieve each of the following objectives:

6 ‘‘(1) To increase public safety by reducing the

7 rate of recidivism by providing as many inmates as

8 possible with an opportunity to gain meaningful em9 ployment and vocational skills and improve their

10 chances of becoming productive and law-abiding citi11 zens after release from prison.

12 ‘‘(2) To minimize any adverse effects of the op13 erations on domestic companies or workers.

14 ‘‘(3) To provide meaningful employment and

15 vocational training for not less than 25 percent of el16 igible inmate workers.

17 ‘‘(4) To provide inmate workers with a source

18 of income with which they may facilitate their ability

19 to contribute to the discharge of their financial obli20 gations.

21 ‘‘(5) To generate sufficient revenue to fund

22 those operations.

23 ‘‘(6) To provide products and services that are

24 market quality and competitively priced.

25 ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—Federal Prison

26 Industries shall carry out its industrial operations in com-
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1 pliance with the following standards, as applicable to cor2 rectional industry programs:

3 ‘‘(1) United Nations standards.

4 ‘‘(2) International Labor Organization conven5 tions to which the United States is a signatory

6 party.

7 ‘‘(3) Federal standards.

8 ‘‘(4) American Correctional Association stand9 ards.

10 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARINESS.—Federal Prison Industries

11 shall carry out its industrial operations only with inmate

12 workers who participate in those operations voluntarily.

13 ‘‘(d) WAGE RATES.—Unless otherwise provided by

14 law, each inmate worker participating in the industrial op15 erations of Federal Prison Industries shall be paid at a

16 wage rate prescribed by the Board of Directors of Federal

17 Prison Industries.

18 ‘‘(e) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.—Fed19 eral Prison Industries shall carry out its industrial oper20 ations so as to ensure that, in the production of a product

21 or the performance of a service, inmate workers do not

22 have access to—

23 ‘‘(1) personal or financial information about

24 any citizen of the United States without prior notice

25 of the access being provided to that citizen, includ-
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1 ing information relating to the citizen’s real prop2 erty, however described, unless that information is

3 publicly available; or

4 ‘‘(2) information that is classified in the na5 tional security or foreign policy interests of the

6 United States.

7 ‘‘(f) VOCATIONAL TRAINING.—At the end of each fis8 cal year, Federal Prison Industries shall, if the Board of

9 Directors determines that it is financially feasible to do

10 so, contribute not less than 20 percent of its net profits

11 for that fiscal year to provide for the vocational training

12 of inmates without regard to their industrial or other as13 signments.

14 ‘‘(g) EXEMPTION FROM PUBLIC CONTRACTING AND

15 PROCUREMENT LAWS.—Federal Prison Industries is ex16 empt from all laws and regulations governing public con17 tracting and the procurement of property or services by

18 an agency of the Federal Government.

19 ‘‘(h) LIABILITY.—The sole remedy for injury, death,

20 or loss resulting from negligence in the design or produc21 tion of a product, or in the performance of a service, by

22 Federal Prison Industries shall be as follows:

23 ‘‘(1) In the case of a person suffering an injury,

24 death, or loss in the performance of duties as an em-
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1 ployee of the United States, chapter 81 of title 5, re2 lating to compensation for work-related injuries.

3 ‘‘(2) In all other cases, chapter 171 of title 28,

4 relating to tort claims.

5 ‘‘(i) DEDUCTIONS FROM WAGES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other provi7 sions of this subsection, the Board of Directors may

8 deduct and withhold amounts from the wages paid

9 to a Federal Prison Industries inmate worker and

10 disburse those amounts for the following:

11 ‘‘(A) Payment of fines, special assess12 ments, restitution to the victim, and any other

13 restitution owed by the inmate worker pursuant

14 to court order.

15 ‘‘(B) Allocations for support of the inmate

16 worker’s family under law, court order, or

17 agreement by the inmate worker.

18 ‘‘(C) Reasonable charges for costs of incar19 ceration, as determined by the Board of Direc20 tors.

21 ‘‘(D) Contributions to any fund established

22 by law to compensate the victims of crime.

23 ‘‘(E) Amounts to be held on account and

24 paid to the inmate worker upon release from

25 the custody of the Bureau of Prisons.
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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The total of all amounts de2 ducted and withheld from the pay of an inmate

3 worker for a pay period may not exceed—

4 ‘‘(A) 80 percent of gross pay, in the case

5 of an inmate worker specified in section

6 4123(d)(2); or

7 ‘‘(B) 50 percent of gross pay, in the case

8 of any other inmate worker.

9 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The total specified in para10 graph (2) may, with the consent of an inmate work11 er, exceed the limitation in paragraph (2)(A) or

12 (2)(B), as applicable, if the amounts in excess of

13 such limitation are for the purposes described in

14 subparagraphs (B) or (E) of paragraph (1).

15 ‘‘(4) AGREEMENT OF INMATE WORKER RE16 QUIRED.—Amounts may not be deducted, withheld,

17 or disbursed under this subsection unless the inmate

18 worker concerned has agreed in advance to the de19 duction, withholding, or disbursement of those

20 amounts.

21 ‘‘§ 4123. Federal Prison Industries: transactions au22 thorized

23 ‘‘(a) SALES TO AGENCIES AND NOT-FOR-PROFITS.—

24 Federal Prison Industries may sell products and services

25 to government agencies and not-for-profit organizations.
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1 ‘‘(b) SALES OF CERTAIN COMMODITIES.—Federal

2 Prison Industries may carry out a program to manufac3 ture commodities specified in section 1761(b).

4 ‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION IN FOREIGN LABOR SUB5 STITUTE PILOT PROJECTS.—Subject to the requirements

6 in subsection (e), Federal Prison Industries may make

7 available inmate workers for participation in a pilot

8 project approved as a foreign labor substitute by the For9 eign Labor Substitute Panel, as referred to in section

10 1761(e).

11 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION IN BJA PILOT PROJECTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the require13 ments in subsection (e), Federal Prison Industries

14 may make available inmate workers for participation

15 in a pilot project designated by the Director of the

16 Bureau of Justice Assistance, as referred to in sec17 tion 1761(c).

18 ‘‘(2) WAGE RATE.—Each inmate worker par19 ticipating in a pilot project specified in paragraph

20 (1) shall be paid at a wage rate that complies with

21 section 1761(c).

22 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACTS WITH PRI23 VATE COMPANIES.—In making available inmate workers

24 for participation in a pilot project under subsection (c) or
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1 (d), Federal Prison Industries shall comply with the fol2 lowing requirements:

3 ‘‘(1) The inmate workers shall be made avail4 able through a contract between Federal Prison In5 dustries and a private United States company.

6 ‘‘(2) The contract shall—

7 ‘‘(A) require that the labor performed by

8 the inmate workers shall be carried out at a

9 Federal Prison Industries facility;

10 ‘‘(B) include a clause that prohibits the

11 company from displacing any of that company’s

12 existing domestic workers as a direct result of

13 the contract with Federal Prison Industries;

14 and

15 ‘‘(C) provide that any workforce reductions

16 carried out by the company affecting employees

17 performing work comparable to the work per18 formed pursuant to the contract shall first

19 apply to inmate workers employed pursuant to

20 the contract.

21 ‘‘(f) GOALS FOR CERTAIN BUSINESSES.—Federal

22 Prison Industries shall, in consultation with the Small

23 Business Administration, establish and strive to meet or

24 exceed realistic goals for entering into contracts with one

25 or more of the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) A business concern that meets the applica2 ble size standards prescribed pursuant to section

3 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)).

4 ‘‘(2) A small business concern owned and con5 trolled by socially and economically disadvantaged

6 individuals, as that term is defined in section

7 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

8 637(d)(3)(C)).

9 ‘‘(g) JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLIND AND SE10 VERELY DISABLED INDIVIDUALS.—Federal Prison Indus11 tries shall establish business partnerships with organiza12 tions representing domestic workers who are blind or se13 verely disabled, for the purpose of entering into contracts

14 with private United States companies that would create

15 job opportunities both for blind and severely disabled indi16 viduals and for Federal inmates.

17 ‘‘(h) DONATION OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.—The

18 Board of Directors may authorize—

19 ‘‘(1) the donation of a product or service of

20 Federal Prison Industries that is available for sale;

21 or

22 ‘‘(2) the production of a new product, or the

23 performance of a new service, for donation.

24 ‘‘(i) CATALOG.—Federal Prison Industries shall pub25 lish and maintain a catalog of all products and services
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1 that it offers for sale to government agencies and not-for2 profit organizations. The catalog shall be periodically re3 vised as products and services are added or deleted.’’.

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1761(c)(1)

5 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘non-Federal’’.

6 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

7 at the beginning of chapter 307 of such title is amended

8 by striking the items relating to sections 4121, 4122, and

9 4123 and inserting the following:

‘‘4121. Federal Prison Industries: status, mission, and management.

‘‘4122. Federal Prison Industries: operating objectives, standards, and requirements.

‘‘4123. Federal Prison Industries: transactions authorized.’’.

10 SEC. 4. ELIMINATION OF MANDATORY SOURCE PURCHASE

11 REQUIREMENT.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4124 of title 18, United

13 States Code, is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the

15 following: ‘‘This subsection does not apply to serv16 ices.’’;

17 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol18 lows:

19 ‘‘(c) Each Federal department or agency shall report

20 purchases from Federal Prison Industries to the Federal

21 Procurement Data System (referred to in section 6(d)(4)

22 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41

23 U.S.C. 405(d)(4))) in the same manner as it reports to
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1 such System any acquisition in an amount in excess of

2 the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section

3 4(11) of that Act (41 U.S.C. 403(11))).’’; and

4 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol5 lows:

6 ‘‘(d)(1) The head of a Federal department or agency

7 may purchase directly from Federal Prison Industries any

8 of the following:

9 ‘‘(A) Any products with respect to which the re10 quirement in subsection (a) has, under any author11 ity, been suspended, waived, or not invoked.

12 ‘‘(B) Any services.

13 ‘‘(2) A purchase under this subsection may be made

14 in any quantity and by any method that is determined ap15 propriate by the head of the agency making the purchase

16 without regard to any provision of law or regulation.’’.

17 (b) PLAN FOR PHASED ELIMINATION OF MANDA18 TORY SOURCE.—Not later than 180 days after the date

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Directors shall

20 submit to Congress a plan for the elimination of the re21 quirement of section 4124(a) of title 18, United States

22 Code. The plan shall provide for the following:

23 (1) Annual reductions in the total sales that are

24 made by Federal Prison Industries under the re25 quirement.
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1 (2) A prohibition on any interim significant ex2 pansion of sales under the requirement above levels

3 authorized by the Board of Directors of Federal

4 Prison Industries for such sales before the date of

5 the enactment of this Act.

6 (3) A prohibition on sales under the require7 ment after the date that is five years after the date

8 on which the plan is submitted to Congress under

9 this section.

10 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF PLAN.—Not later than

11 30 days after the date on which the plan is submitted to

12 Congress under this section, Federal Prison Industries

13 shall publish the plan in a commercial business publication

14 with a national circulation. Federal Prison Industries shall

15 make copies of the plan available to the public upon re16 quest.

17 (d) REPEAL OF MANDATORY SOURCE REQUIRE18 MENT.—Effective on the date that is five years after the

19 date on which the plan is submitted to Congress under

20 this section, section 4124 of title 18, United States Code,

21 is amended—

22 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); and

23 (2) by amending subsection (d)(1)(A) to read

24 as follows:

25 ‘‘(A) Any products.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. PERIODIC EVALUATION AND REPORTS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4127 of title 18, United

3 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘§ 4127. Periodic evaluation and reports

5 ‘‘(a) EVALUATION BY GAO.—

6 ‘‘(1) MATTERS EVALUATED.—The Comptroller

7 General shall provide for an independent evaluation

8 of the operations of Federal Prison Industries to be

9 carried out each year. The matters evaluated shall

10 include the following:

11 ‘‘(A) The overall success of the operations.

12 ‘‘(B) The effects that any reduction in the

13 purchases made under section 4124(a) has on

14 the viability of Federal Prison Industries.

15 ‘‘(C) The extent to which Federal Prison

16 Industries can successfully contract with private

17 companies without adversely affecting domestic

18 companies or workers.

19 ‘‘(2) VIEWS INCLUDED.—The Comptroller Gen20 eral shall ensure that, in the development of appro21 priate methodologies for the evaluation under para22 graph (1), the views of the Foreign Labor Substitute

23 Panel, private industry, organized labor, the Board

24 of Directors of Federal Prison Industries, and the

25 public are solicited.
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1 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than March 31 of

2 each fiscal year, the Comptroller General shall sub3 mit to Congress a report on the evaluation of the op4 erations of Federal Prison Industries that was car5 ried out under paragraph (1) for the preceding fiscal

6 year. The report for a fiscal year shall, at a min7 imum, include the following:

8 ‘‘(A) The evaluation.

9 ‘‘(B) Any concerns raised about any ad10 verse effects on domestic companies or workers,

11 together with any actions taken in regard to the

12 concerns.

13 ‘‘(C) The extent to which Federal Prison

14 Industries maintained at least a 25 percent em15 ployment rate for eligible inmate workers.

16 ‘‘(D) The extent to which Federal Prison

17 Industries conducted its operations on a finan18 cially self-sustaining basis.

19 ‘‘(E) Any recommended legislation to im20 prove the administration of this chapter or the

21 effects of the administration of this chapter, in22 cluding any recommended legislation necessary

23 to authorize remedial actions regarding—

24 ‘‘(i) any conduct of the operations of

25 Federal Prison Industries in a manner
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1 that adversely affects domestic companies

2 or workers (excluding the effects of normal

3 competitive business practices);

4 ‘‘(ii) any failure of Federal Prison In5 dustries to maintain at least a 25 percent

6 employment rate for eligible inmate work7 ers; or

8 ‘‘(iii) any failure of Federal Prison In9 dustries to conduct its operations on a fi10 nancially self-sustaining basis.

11 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors of

13 Federal Prison Industries shall, each year, report

14 under section 9106 of title 31 on the conduct of the

15 business of Federal Prison Industries and the condi16 tion of its funds during the preceding fiscal year.

17 ‘‘(2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—In addition to the

18 matters required by section 9106 of title 31, and

19 such other matters as the Board considers appro20 priate, each report for a fiscal year under paragraph

21 (1) shall include the following:

22 ‘‘(A) A statement of the amount of obliga23 tions issued under section 4129(a)(1) of this

24 title during that fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(B) An estimate of the amount of obliga2 tions that will be issued under that section dur3 ing the following fiscal year.

4 ‘‘(C) An analysis of—

5 ‘‘(i) the total sales by Federal Prison

6 Industries for each product and service

7 sold to Federal agencies and to private

8 United States companies;

9 ‘‘(ii) the total purchases by each Fed10 eral agency of each product and service;

11 and

12 ‘‘(iii) The Federal Prison Industries

13 share of the total Federal Government pur14 chases by product and service.

15 ‘‘(D) An analysis of the inmate workforce,

16 including—

17 ‘‘(i) the number of inmates employed;

18 ‘‘(ii) the number of inmates used to

19 produce products or perform services sold

20 to private United States companies;

21 ‘‘(iii) the number and percentage of

22 employed inmates, categorized by term of

23 incarceration; and

24 ‘‘(iv) the various hourly wages paid to

25 inmates engaged in the production of the
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1 various products and the performance of

2 services authorized for production and sale

3 to Federal agencies and to private United

4 States companies.

5 ‘‘(E) Information concerning any employ6 ment obtained by former inmates upon release

7 that is useful in determining whether the em8 ployment provided by Federal Prison Industries

9 during incarceration provided those former in10 mates with knowledge and skill in a trade or oc11 cupation that enabled them to earn a livelihood

12 upon release.

13 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The Board of

14 Directors shall make available to the public each re15 port under this subsection.’’.

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—In the table of sections

17 at the beginning of chapter 307 of such title, the item

18 relating to section 4127 is amended to read as follows:

‘‘4127. Periodic evaluation and reports.’’.

19 SEC. 6. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEFINITIONS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 307 of title 18, United

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing:

23 ‘‘§ 4130. Construction of provisions

24 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed—
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1 ‘‘(1) to establish an entitlement of any inmate

2 to—

3 ‘‘(A) employment in a Federal Prison In4 dustries facility; or

5 ‘‘(B) any particular wage, compensation,

6 or benefit on demand;

7 ‘‘(2) to establish that inmates are employees for

8 the purposes of any law or program; or

9 ‘‘(3) to establish any cause of action by or on

10 behalf of any person against the United States or

11 any officer, employee, or contractor thereof.

12 ‘‘§ 4131. Definitions

13 ‘‘In this chapter:

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible inmate worker’ means a

15 person who—

16 ‘‘(A) is committed to the custody of the

17 Bureau of Prisons pursuant to section 3621 of

18 this title;

19 ‘‘(B) is designated to a low, medium, or

20 high security facility operated by the Bureau of

21 Prisons; and

22 ‘‘(C) is physically and mentally able to

23 work.

24 ‘‘(2) The term ‘private United States company’

25 means a corporation, partnership, joint venture, or
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1 sole proprietorship with a principal place of business

2 in the United States.’’.

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

4 at the beginning of chapter 307 of such title is amended

5 by adding at the end the following new items:

‘‘4130. Construction of provisions.

‘‘4131. Definitions.’’.

6 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

7 Section 436 of title 18, United States Code, is

8 amended by striking ‘‘Whoever,’’ and inserting ‘‘Except

9 as otherwise provided in this title, whoever,’’.

Æ