I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3893
To amend the Crime Control Act of 1990 with respect to the work require-
ment for Federal prisoners and to amend title 18, United States Code,
with respect to the use of Federal prison labor by nonprofit entities,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 19, 1998
Mr. ENSIGN (for himself and Mr. GIBBONS) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Crime Control Act of 1990 with respect to
the work requirement for Federal prisoners and to
amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to
the use of Federal prison labor by nonprofit entities,
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 ‘‘Common Sense Prison
Work and Victim Restitution Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) work is inherently American and honorable;
(2) work is of fundamental importance to any
orderly society which reveres such common values as
responsibility, independence, and respect for others;
(3) in order to reduce recidivism, provide res-
titution to victims, reparations to communities, and
promote the values of responsibility, independence,
and respect for others, the Federal Government
should enact policies which expand work, edu-
cational, and life skills opportunities for prisoners
incarcerated in Federal and State penal institutions;
(4) American taxpayers are justified to expect
that prisoners reimburse the United States Treasury
for the cost of their incarceration, and in addition,
that prisoners should make monetary restitution to
a fund which benefits the victims of crime;
(5) prisoners should be prohibited from engag-
ing in certain types of activities which are not
healthy and conducive to their successful rehabilita-
tion and restitution;
(6) prisoners should not have access to certain
amenities which are unnecessary, enhance leisure ac-
tivities, or do not promote successful rehabilitation;
(7) existing Federal laws limit prisoners from
engaging in work, and do not impose mandatory
work requirements for prisoners;
(8) existing barriers to prisoner labor should be
removed and Federal laws should be strengthened to
ensure that prisoners, their victims, taxpayers, and
society in general reap the maximum benefits and
positive values associated with work; and
(9) when implemented effectively, shock incar-
ceration, or ‘‘boot camp’’ programs, can provide of-
fenders with a heightened sense of personal respon-
sibility, confidence, self-discipline, and an increased
ability to make a successful return to the community
while maximizing and fostering a safe and orderly
work environment for corrections’ personnel.
SEC. 3. WORK REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL PRISONERS.
(a) WORK REQUIREMENT.—Section 2905 of the
Crime Control Act of 1990 (18 U.S.C. 4121 note) is
amended by adding at the end of subsection (a) the follow-
ing: ‘‘Subject to this section, such inmates shall engage
in work for not less than 50 hours weekly. In addition
inmates shall engage job-training and educational and life
skills preparation study. In the event that opportunities
otherwise provided by law for inmates to work are not suf-
ficient to meet the requirements of the preceding sentence,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the services
of prisoners may also be made available to nonprofit enti-
ties to carry out any of their business or other functions.
Each authority of the United States that makes grants
to nonprofit entities shall take appropriate action to in-
form such entities of the availability of inmates for this
purpose. The Attorney General shall make rules governing
the provision of services by inmates to such entities and
the payment of any wages or other compensation for such
services.’’.
(b) USE OF PRISON LABOR BY PRIVATE ENTITIES.—
The Attorney General shall, not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, submit legislative
recommendations to Congress to permit Federal prisoners
to perform work for private employers while minimizing
the economic impact on the private sector of this expan-
sion of the use of prison labor.
(c) USE OF REVENUES FROM PRISON LABOR.—
(1) There is established in the Treasury a Fund
(hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the
‘‘Fund’’).
(2) All proceeds and wages, less any taxes or
withholding required by Federal or State law, from
prison labor performed by inmates under the super-
vision of the Attorney General shall be placed in the
Fund.
(3) The Fund shall be used, under guidelines
established by the Attorney General, as follows:
(A) One third shall be used to offset the
costs of prisoner incarceration.
(B) One third shall be used for victim res-
titution.
(C) One tenth to be held in a non-interest
bearing account for the individual prisoner, to
be paid on release from prison, but if the pris-
oner will not be eligible for release, then this
portion shall be immediately available for use
under subparagraph (B).
(D) The remainder to States and local ju-
risdictions that operate correctional facilities to
benefit the dependents of prisoners, but only to
those States the Attorney General determines
have substantially the same prison work re-
quirements and prison conditions as established
for Federal prisoners.
SEC. 4. PRISON CONDITIONS.
The Bureau of Prisons shall ensure that Federal pris-
oners—
(1) do not possess, view, or read pornographic
or sexually explicit materials;
(2) are subject not less often than once each
month to a combination of random and regularly
scheduled testing for drugs and illegal substances;
(3) do not possess microwave ovens, hot plates,
toaster ovens, or televisions (unless provided by the
prison for group viewing), or VCRs;
(4) do not possess, or listen to, music which
contains lyrics that are violent, sexually explicit, vul-
gar, glamorize gang membership or activities, de-
mean women or disrespect law enforcement;
(5) do not view cable television which is not
educational in nature; and
(6) do not engage in sexual activity.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON DRUG TESTING COSTS.
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation
with the General Accounting Office, shall report to Con-
gress the then anticipated annual costs, for each of the
5 following fiscal years, of implementing a monthly drug
testing program for all Federal prisoners.
SEC. 6. DRUG DETECTION DOG PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall establish a program to utilize drug detection dogs
in inmate work areas, living quarters, and delivery areas
for the purpose of detecting narcotics.
(b) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap-
propriated $10,000,000 to carry out subsection (a).
SEC. 7. ELIMINATION OF SENTENCING INEQUITIES FOR
DRUG OFFENDERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section
3621(e)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION
OF
TREATMENT
PROGRAMS.—The Attorney General shall ensure
through the use of all appropriate and available
incentives and sanctions that eligible prisoners
undergo a program of substance abuse treat-
ment.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for
paragraph (2) of section 3621(e) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘INCENTIVE
FOR
PRIS-
ONERS’ SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF TREATMENT PRO-
GRAM’’ and inserting ‘‘TREATMENT REQUIREMENT’’.
(c) 
ELIGIBILITY.—Clause 
(ii) 
of 
section
3621(e)(5)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(ii) within 24 months of the date of
release, or is otherwise designated by the
Bureau of Prisons for participation in a
residential substance abuse treatment pro-
gram; and’’.
SEC. 8. BOOT CAMP REQUIREMENT.
Section 4046 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting
‘‘shall, except as provided in subsection (d),’’;
and
(B) by striking ‘‘of more than 12’’ and all
that follows through the end of such subsection
and inserting a period;
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘not to exceed
6 months’’ and inserting ‘‘which shall be not less
than 4 weeks’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) An inmate who, in the judgment of the Bureau
of Prisons, either does not successfully complete the re-
quired period of shock incarceration or is physically or
mentally unfit to participate in the activities required by
shock incarceration, shall be confined to that inmate’s cell
for not less than 23 hours each day during the portion
of the term of imprisonment that would otherwise be spent
in shock incarceration and shall, during the remainder of
that term, be granted no privileges other than those re-
quired by law.’’.
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