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Norton Announces Committee Passage of Her Bill Requiring Federal Bureau of Prisons to Provide Information to D.C. on Returning Citizens

May 11, 2022

Committee on Oversight & Reform passed Norton’s bill today

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the Committee on Oversight and Reform today passed her bill that would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide information to the District of Columbia on individuals convicted of felonies under D.C. law in BOP custody. BOP houses individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies, but BOP contends that federal privacy laws prohibit it from providing any information on these individuals to D.C.

"Thank you, Chairwoman Maloney, for prioritizing the markup of this important bill," Norton said. "Individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies face significant and unique reentry challenges because BOP will not provide any information on these individuals to D.C., and because these individuals are housed hundreds or even thousands of miles from the District, their families and their loved ones."

Under this bill, D.C. would know the health and other needs of individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies before they are released from BOP custody. Individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies are the only individuals required to be housed by BOP for violations of non-federal laws.

Norton's markup statement, as prepared for delivery, follows.

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

Committee on Oversight and Reform

Markup of the District of Columbia Code Returning Citizens Coordination Act

May 11, 2022

Chairwoman Maloney, thank you for marking up this bill. This bill would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide information to the District of Columbia government on individuals convicted of felonies under D.C. law in BOP custody. Currently, BOP provides no information to D.C. on these individuals, even immediately before release, which inhibits reentry, increases recidivism and harms public safety.

Federal law requires BOP to incarcerate individuals convicted of felonies under D.C. law. There are currently 3,200 such individuals in BOP custody, and they are located in prisons throughout the United States. This unique custody arrangement creates several obstacles to successful reentry, including information sharing among agencies.

BOP asserts that federal privacy laws prohibit it from providing any information to D.C. on these individuals, which prevents D.C. from having services ready for them when they return from prison. Yet, studies consistently show the importance of health care, housing, education, job training and substance use disorder treatment for successful reentry.

This bill would require BOP to provide D.C. two types of information on each individual convicted of a D.C. Code felony in BOP custody. Every 90 days, BOP would provide the name, age, Federal Register Number, facility where housed and the scheduled release date. Upon D.C.'s request, BOP would provide D.C. the same information that BOP provides to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA) on these individuals, such as their release plan. CSOSA is a federal agency that supervises individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies on supervised release and parole.

D.C. would be allowed to provide the biographical information only to counsel for the individuals, and to organizations that provide legal representation to individuals in criminal or post-conviction matters, or in matters related to reentry. D.C. would not be allowed to provide any of the other information, and D.C. law enforcement agencies would not have access to any of the information.

The overwhelming majority of people in prison return home. I hope everyone agrees on the importance of successful reentry. I urge support for this bill.

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