119-s1914

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1914 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1914

 To require Federal law enforcement and prison officials to obtain or 
 provide immediate medical attention to individuals in custody who 
 display medical distress.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 May 22, 2025

 Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
Merkley, and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require Federal law enforcement and prison officials to obtain or 
 provide immediate medical attention to individuals in custody who 
 display medical distress.

 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 ``Andrew Kearse Accountability for 
Denial of Medical Care Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS IN FEDERAL CUSTODY DISPLAYING 
 MEDICAL DISTRESS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``

Sec. 251. Medical attention for individuals in Federal custody 
 displaying medical distress
 ``

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section--
 ``

    (1) the term `appropriate Inspector General', with 
 respect to a covered official, means--
 ``
        (A) the Inspector General of the Federal agency 
 that employs the covered official; or
 ``
        (B) in the case of a covered official employed by 
 a Federal agency that does not have an Inspector 
 General, the Inspector General of the Department of 
 Justice;
 ``

    (2) the term `covered official' means--
 ``
        (A) a Federal law enforcement officer (as defined 
 in 

section 115);
 ``
        (B) an officer or employee of the Bureau of 
 Prisons; or
 ``
            (C) an officer or employee of the United States 
 Marshals Service; and
 ``

    (3) the term `medical distress' includes breathing 
 difficulties.
 ``

    (b) Requirement.--
 ``

    (1) Offense.--It shall be unlawful for a covered official 
 to negligently fail to obtain or provide immediate medical 
 attention to an individual in Federal custody who displays 
 medical distress in the presence of the covered official if the 
 individual suffers unnecessary pain, injury, or death as a 
 result of that failure.
 ``

    (2) Penalty.--A covered official who violates paragraph

    (1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more 
 than 1 year, or both.
 ``

    (3) State civil enforcement.--Whenever an attorney 
 general of a State has reasonable cause to believe that a 
 resident of the State has been aggrieved by a violation of 
 paragraph

    (1) by a covered official, the attorney general or 
 another official, agency, or entity designated by the State may 
 bring a civil action in any appropriate district court of the 
 United States to obtain appropriate equitable and declaratory 
 relief.
 ``
            (c) Inspector General Investigation.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The appropriate Inspector General shall 
 investigate any instance in which--
 ``
        (A) a covered official fails to obtain or provide 
 immediate medical attention to an individual in Federal 
 custody who displays medical distress in the presence 
 of the covered official; and
 ``
        (B) the individual suffers unnecessary pain, 
 injury, or death as a result of the failure to obtain 
 or provide immediate medical attention.
 ``

    (2) Referral for prosecution.--If an appropriate 
 Inspector General, in conducting an investigation under 
 paragraph

    (1) , concludes that a covered official acted 
 negligently in failing to obtain or provide immediate medical 
 attention to an individual in Federal custody, the appropriate 
 Inspector General shall refer the case to the Attorney General 
 for prosecution under this section.
 ``

    (3) Confidential complaint process.--The Inspector 
 General of a Federal agency that employs covered officials 
 shall establish a process under which an individual may 
 confidentially submit a complaint to the Inspector General 
 regarding an incident described in paragraph

    (1) involving a 
 covered official employed by the Federal agency (or, in the 
 case of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, 
 involving a covered official employed by a Federal agency that 
 does not have an Inspector General).
 ``
            (d) Training.--The head of an agency that employs covered 
officials shall provide training to each covered official on obtaining 
or providing medical assistance to individuals in medical distress.''.

    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``251. Medical attention for individuals in Federal custody displaying 
 medical distress.''.
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