Bill Details
HRES.208 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-03-10 - Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced Date
2025-03-10
Policy Area
Crime and Law Enforcement
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
6
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This House resolution says the House stands with New York State corrections officers who are striking over unsafe and difficult working conditions. It blames the state government, especially Governor Kathy Hochul, for not doing enough to protect staff, and it urges New York lawmakers to repeal the HALT Act, which the resolution says has made prisons more dangerous. The resolution does not change federal law or create new rules; it is a statement of support and criticism.
- The resolution says assaults on corrections officers, nurses, and other staff in New York prisons reached 2,070 in 2024, which it says was an 85% increase since 2019.
- It says staffing has fallen from 16,305 corrections officers in 2022 to 13,886 in 2025, leading to record levels of forced overtime.
- It says officers at the Collins and Elmira Correctional Facilities began striking on February 17, 2025, and the strike soon spread to almost all state prisons.
- It says earlier steps, including a temporary suspension of parts of the HALT Act, arbitration, and a final settlement, did not fully solve the problems, and some striking officers are being fired and losing health coverage.
Official Summaries
No summaries available
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 208 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 208
Expressing solidarity with the New York State corrections officers
striking for better working conditions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 10, 2025
Ms. Tenney (for herself, Mr. LaLota, Mr. Garbarino, Ms. Malliotakis,
Mr. Lawler, Ms. Stefanik, and Mr. Langworthy) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing solidarity with the New York State corrections officers
striking for better working conditions.
Whereas New York State corrections officers are forced to work in dangerous
conditions and are constantly attacked by radical leftwing politicians;
Whereas the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
officially reported 2,070 assaults on corrections officers, nurses, and
other staff across New York State in 2024, an 85-percent increase since
2019;
Whereas, in 2022, the HALT Act was signed into law severely limiting
correctional officers' ability to discipline inmates to keep other
inmates safe through the use of solitary confinement;
Whereas, due to the dangerous conditions corrections officers are placed in, the
number of facility personnel has significantly decreased from 16,305
corrections officers in 2022 to 13,886 corrections officers in 2025;
Whereas, due to these staffing shortages, mandatory overtime for corrections
officers has reached record levels;
Whereas, to fix the staff shortage, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul
proposed slashing the number of staff each facility is required to
maintain to be considered at ``full staffing'', which would be a 30-
percent decrease in corrections officers at each facility;
Whereas the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent
Association (NYSCOPBA) has repeatedly communicated to the Governor and
the New York State Legislature the dangers that corrections officers are
facing, the need to repeal the HALT Act, and the need for better support
for our corrections officers;
Whereas, on February 17, 2025, corrections officers at the Collins and Elmira
Correctional Facilities began to strike in protest of the conditions
that corrections officers are facing, and the strike spread to almost
all of the New York State prisons;
Whereas, in response to these strikes, Governor Hochul temporarily suspended
portions of the HALT Act, locked corrections officers inside the
facilities, and forced inmates into 24-hour lockdowns;
Whereas New York State and NYSCOPBA entered into arbitration, and the final
consent award did not sufficiently resolve many of the underlying issues
that caused the strike; and
Whereas corrections officers who continue to strike for safe working conditions
are now being terminated and losing their health care: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses solidarity with the New York State
corrections officers as they fight for better working
conditions;
(2) condemns Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State for
their treatment of corrections officers; and
(3) urges the New York State Legislature to expeditiously
repeal the HALT Act which makes every New York State
correctional facility more dangerous.
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