I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2599 
To reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections in correctional 
facilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 28, 2013 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. WILSON 
of Florida, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. ELLI-
SON, Mr. LEWIS, and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Financial Services, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections in 
correctional facilities, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Justice for the Unpro-
tected against Sexually Transmitted Infections among the 
Confined and Exposed Act’’ or the ‘‘JUSTICE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Findings. 
Sec. 4. Authority to allow community organizations to provide STI counseling, 
STI prevention education, and sexual barrier protection devices 
in Federal correctional facilities. 
Sec. 5. Sense of Congress regarding distribution of sexual barrier protection de-
vices in State prison systems. 
Sec. 6. Automatic enrollment or reinstatement of Medicaid benefits. 
Sec. 7. Survey of and report on correctional and immigration detention facility 
programs aimed at reducing the spread of STIs. 
Sec. 8. Strategy. 
Sec. 9. Eligibility of persons discharged from correctional facilities for McKin-
ney-Vento Act housing assistance. 
Sec. 10. Definitions. 
Sec. 11. Appropriations. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) According to the Bureau of Justice Statis-
tics (BJS), 2,239,800 persons were incarcerated in 
State or Federal prisons or local jails in the United 
States as of the end of 2011. Additionally, one in 
every 34 United States residents was on probation, 
in jail or prison, or on parole. During 2011, the De-
partment of Homeland Security (DHS) confined an 
additional 642,000 people. DHS held 429,000 of 
them in immigration detention facilities. 
(2) In 2010, 60 percent of incarcerated persons 
were racial or ethnic minorities. In 2011, African- 
Americans males ages 18 to 19 were imprisoned at 
more than 9 times the rate of their White counter-
parts. African-American men are incarcerated at a 
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rate more than 6 times that of White males, and 2.6 
times that of Hispanic males, despite similar rates 
of criminal activity. 
(3) There is a disproportionately high rate of 
HIV/AIDS among incarcerated persons, especially 
among minorities. Rates of HIV diagnoses among 
persons tested in prisons in 2004 were higher in Af-
rican-Americans and Hispanics than Whites. Ap-
proximately 1 in 7 people living with HIV will pass 
through the prison system each year. 
(4) In 2010, the AIDS-related death rate 
among prisoners was more than 4 times higher 
among African-Americans compared to Whites. 
(5) Studies suggest that other sexually trans-
mitted 
infections 
(STIs), 
such 
as 
gonorrhea, 
chlamydia, syphilis, genital herpes, viral hepatitis, 
and human papillomavirus, also exist at a higher 
rate among incarcerated persons than in the general 
population. According to the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, 16 percent to 41 percent of 
incarcerated persons have been infected with hepa-
titis C (compared to 1 percent to 1.5 percent of the 
general population), and 12 percent to 35 percent of 
incarcerated persons are chronically infected with 
hepatitis C. 
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(6) Many correctional facilities in the United 
States do not provide comprehensive testing and 
treatment programs to reduce the spread of STIs. 
According to BJS surveys from 2005, only 996 of 
the 1,821 Federal and State correctional facilities 
(i.e., 54.7 percent) provided HIV/AIDS counseling 
programs. 
(7) Individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid 
prior to incarceration, including those who are pend-
ing disposition and have not had a trial yet, face a 
suspension of their benefits upon incarceration, and 
in some States a termination of their Medicaid eligi-
bility. The Federal Government encourages States to 
automatically re-enroll incarcerated persons on Med-
icaid upon their release from a correctional facility, 
unless the State reaches a determination that the in-
dividual is no longer eligible for reasons other than 
their prior incarceration. 
(8) Formerly incarcerated individuals who are 
newly released from correctional facilities often face 
delays in the resumption of their Medicaid benefits 
which may exacerbate any health issues which they 
face. 
(9) Incarcerated individuals living with HIV/ 
AIDS who are eligible for Medicaid would benefit 
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from prompt and automatic enrollment upon their 
release in order to ensure their continued ability to 
access health services, including antiretroviral treat-
ment. 
(10) Correctional facilities lack a uniform sys-
tem of STI testing and reporting. Establishing a 
uniform data collection system would assist in devel-
oping and targeting counseling and treatment pro-
grams for incarcerated persons and can help reduce 
the spread of STIs. 
(11) Although Congress has acted to reduce the 
spread of sexual violence in correctional facilities by 
enacting the National Prison Rape Elimination Act 
(PREA) of 2003, BJS reported that approximately 
4.4 percent of incarcerated persons in prisons and 
3.1 percent of persons in jail reported experiencing 
one or more incidents of sexual victimization by an-
other incarcerated person or correctional facility 
staff in the previous year. 
(12) According to CDC, incarcerated persons 
do engage in sexual intercourse. The CDC finds that 
correct and consistent male or female condom use 
effectively reduces the risk of HIV and STI trans-
mission and recommends HIV education and coun-
seling in prisons. 
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(13) Despite the effectiveness of condoms in re-
ducing the spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs, the Bu-
reau of Prisons does not recommend their use in 
correctional facilities. 
(14) The distribution of condoms in correctional 
facilities is currently legal in certain parts of the 
United States and the world. The States of Vermont 
and Mississippi and the District of Columbia allow 
condom distribution programs in their correctional 
facilities. The cities of New York, San Francisco, 
Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia also 
allow condom distribution in their correctional facili-
ties. However, these States and cities operate less 
than 1 percent of all correctional facilities. 
(15) The American Public Health Association, 
National Commission on Correctional Health Care 
(NCCHC), Human Rights Watch, the United Na-
tions Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, the United Na-
tions Office of Drugs and Crime, UNAIDS, and the 
World Health Organization have endorsed the effec-
tiveness of condom distribution programs in correc-
tional facilities. The Global Commission on HIV and 
the Law further recognizes that the lack of condoms 
exacerbates transmission risk. 
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