I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4730 
To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 25, 2012 
Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan (for himself and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be 
appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
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 ‘‘Federal Prisons Ac-
countability Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons leads 
a law enforcement component of the Department of 
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Justice with a budget that exceeds $6,500,000,000 
for fiscal year 2012. 
(2) With the exception of the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation, the Bureau of Prisons has the larg-
est operating budget of any unit within the Depart-
ment of Justice. 
(3) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons over-
sees and is responsible for the welfare of more than 
216,000 Federal inmates in 117 facilities. 
(4) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons su-
pervises more than 37,000 employees, many of 
whom operate in hazardous environments that in-
volve regular interaction with violent offenders. 
(5) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons also 
serves as the chief operating officer for Federal Pris-
ons Industries, a wholly owned government enter-
prise of 98 prison factories that directly competes 
against the private sector, including small busi-
nesses, for Government contracts. 
(6) Within the Department of Justice, in addi-
tion to those officials who oversee litigating compo-
nents, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, To-
bacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Director of the 
Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Director of the 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Director of the 
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Community Relations Service, the Director of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the 
National Institute of Justice, the Director of the Of-
fice for Victims of Crime, the Director of the Office 
on Violence Against Women, the Administrator of 
the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Deputy 
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administra-
tion, the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Director of 
the United States Marshals Service, 94 United 
States Marshals, the Inspector General of the De-
partment of Justice, and the Special Counsel for Im-
migration Related Unfair Employment Practices, are 
all appointed by the President by and with the ad-
vice and consent of the Senate. 
(7) Despite the significant budget of the Bu-
reau of Prisons and the vast number of people under 
the responsibility of the Director of the Bureau of 
Prisons, the Director is not appointed by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. 
SEC. 3. DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF PRISONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4041 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘appointed by and 
serving directly under the Attorney General.’’ and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘who shall be appointed by the Presi-
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dent by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
The Director shall serve directly under the Attorney Gen-
eral.’’. 
(b) INCUMBENT.—Notwithstanding the amendment 
made by subsection (a), the individual serving as the Di-
rector of the Bureau of Prisons on the date of enactment 
of this Act may serve as the Director of the Bureau of 
Prisons until the date that is 3 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to limit the ability of the President to 
appoint the individual serving as the Director of the Bu-
reau of Prisons on the date of enactment of this Act to 
the position of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons in 
accordance with section 4041 of title 18, United States 
Code, as amended by subsection (a). 
Æ 
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