119-s698

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

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

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.
 <all>