I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7268 
To require Federal law enforcement and prison officials to obtain or provide 
immediate medical attention to individuals in custody who display medical 
distress. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 18, 2020 
Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. OMAR, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. 
CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. TLAIB, 
Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, and Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require Federal law enforcement and prison officials to 
obtain or provide immediate medical attention to individ-
uals in custody who display medical distress. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Andrew Kearse Ac-
countability for Denial of Medical Care Act of 2020’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Jul 10, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7268.IH
H7268
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS IN FED-
ERAL CUSTODY DISPLAYING MEDICAL DIS-
TRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 250. Medical attention for individuals in Federal 
custody displaying medical distress 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriate Inspector General’, 
with respect to a covered official, means— 
‘‘(A) the Inspector General of the Federal 
agency that employs the covered official; or 
‘‘(B) in the case of a covered official em-
ployed by a Federal agency that does not have 
an Inspector General, the Inspector General of 
the Department of Justice; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘covered official’ means a Federal 
law enforcement officer (as defined in section 115) 
or an officer or employee of the Bureau of Prisons; 
and 
‘‘(3) the term ‘medical distress’ includes breath-
ing difficulties. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(1) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for a cov-
ered official to negligently fail to obtain or provide 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Jul 10, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7268.IH
H7268
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
immediate medical attention to an individual in Fed-
eral custody who displays medical distress in the 
presence of the covered official, if the individual suf-
fers unnecessary pain, injury, or death as a result of 
that failure. 
‘‘(2) PENALTY.—A covered official who violates 
paragraph (1) shall be fined under this title, impris-
oned for not more than 1 year, or both. 
‘‘(3) STATE CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.—Whenever 
an attorney general of a State has reasonable cause 
to believe that a resident of the State has been ag-
grieved by a violation of paragraph (1) by a covered 
official, the attorney general, or another official, 
agency, or entity designated by the State, may bring 
a civil action in any appropriate district court of the 
United States to obtain appropriate equitable and 
declaratory relief. 
‘‘(c) INSPECTOR GENERAL INVESTIGATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate Inspector 
General shall investigate any instance in which— 
‘‘(A) a covered official fails to obtain or 
provide immediate medical attention to an indi-
vidual in Federal custody who displays medical 
distress in the presence of the covered official; 
and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Jul 10, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7268.IH
H7268
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) the individual suffers unnecessary 
pain, injury, or death as a result of the failure 
to obtain or provide immediate medical atten-
tion. 
‘‘(2) REFERRAL FOR PROSECUTION.—If an In-
spector General, in conducting an investigation 
under paragraph (1), concludes that the covered offi-
cial acted negligently in failing to obtain or provide 
immediate medical attention to the individual in 
Federal custody, the Inspector General shall refer 
the case to the Attorney General for prosecution 
under this section. 
‘‘(3) CONFIDENTIAL
COMPLAINT
PROCESS.— 
The Inspector General of a Federal agency that em-
ploys covered officials shall establish a process under 
which an individual may confidentially submit a 
complaint to the Inspector General regarding an in-
cident described in paragraph (1) involving a covered 
official employed by the Federal agency (or, in the 
case of the Inspector General of the Department of 
Justice, involving a covered official employed by a 
Federal agency that does not have an Inspector Gen-
eral). 
‘‘(d) TRAINING.—The head of an agency that em-
ploys covered officials shall provide training to each such 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Jul 10, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7268.IH
H7268
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
covered official on obtaining or providing medical assist-
ance to individuals in medical distress.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 13 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘250. Medical attention for individuals in Federal custody displaying medical 
distress.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Jul 10, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H7268.IH
H7268
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS