Official Summaries

Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025 

This bill modifies the appointment procedures and term of service for the Director of the Bureau of Prisons.

Currently, the director is appointed by the Attorney General. This bill requires the director to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The bill also limits the director to a single term of 10 years.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 698 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 698

To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by and 
               with the advice and consent of the Senate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 24, 2025

 Mr. McConnell (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Paul, Mr. Lankford, and 
Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Prisons Accountability Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons leads a law 
        enforcement component of the Department of Justice with a 
        budget that exceeded $8,390,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.
            (2) With the exception of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, the Bureau of Prisons had the largest operating 
        budget of any unit within the Department of Justice for fiscal 
        year 2024.
            (3) As of 2025, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons 
        oversaw 122 facilities and was responsible for the welfare of 
        more than 155,000 Federal inmates.
            (4) As of 2025, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons 
        supervised more than 35,000 employees, many of whom operate in 
        hazardous environments that involve regular interaction with 
        violent offenders.
            (5) Within the Department of Justice, in addition to those 
        officials who oversee litigating components, the Director of 
        the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the 
        Director of the Community Relations Service, the Director of 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Office 
        on Violence Against Women, the Administrator of the Drug 
        Enforcement Administration, the Deputy Administrator of the 
        Drug Enforcement Administration, the Director of the United 
        States Marshals Service, 94 United States Marshals, the 
        Inspector General of the Department of Justice, and the Special 
        Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices, 
        are all appointed by the President by and with the advice and 
        consent of the Senate.
            (6) Despite the significant budget of the Bureau 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 inserting the following: ``who shall be 
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. The Director shall serve directly under the Attorney 
General.''.
    (b) Incumbent.--Notwithstanding the amendment made by subsection 
(a), the individual serving as the Director 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 Bureau of Prisons on the date of enactment of 
this Act to the position of Director of the Bureau of Prisons in 
accordance with section 4041 of title 18, United States Code, as 
amended by subsection (a).
    (d) Term.--
            (1) In general.--Section 4041 of title 18, United States 
        Code, as amended by subsection (a), is amended by inserting 
        after ``consent of the Senate.'' the following: ``The Director 
        shall be appointed for a term of 10 years, except that an 
        individual appointed to the position of Director may continue 
        to serve in that position until another individual is appointed 
        to that position, by and with the advice and consent of the 
        Senate. An individual may not serve more than 1 term as 
        Director.''.
            (2) Applicability.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to appointments made on or after the date of 
        enactment of this Act.
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