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CONGRESSMAN FORMS BOP REFORM CAUCUS IN CONGRESS

Representative Fred Keller (R-Pennsylvania) has created a bipartisan Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Reform Caucus in Congress.

Keller said during news conference in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, last Friday that  the aim of the caucus is to improve BOP accountability and transparency, address systemic issues within the system and ensure the health and safety of corrections officers, staff, inmates and the communities surrounding the prisons.

“With a $7 billion budget, more than 36,000 employees and 172,000 inmates, the BOP is a massive government agency, yet its leadership in Washington lacks adequate congressional oversight,” he said. “”This will bring transparency to the Bureau of Prisons as a whole. Our goal is once we start shining a light on this, we’ll be able to affect change in the leadership of the Bureau of Prisons and the way they conduct business.”

The recent COVID-19 outbreak at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary and several cases at the three-prison Allenwood complex “are proof that the policies BOP set in place to mitigate the spread of the disease have failed,” Keller complained.

Other members of the caucus are Republican Reps. Glen Thompson of Pennsylvania, Elise Stefanik of New York and Rodney Davis of Illinois and Democrat Reps. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania and Andy Kim of New Jersey.

Don’t kid yourself that this caucus has anything to do with the welfare of inmates. Rather, it’s aimed at how the BOP treats its employees and the communities surrounding its facilities, a “straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back moment resulting from USP Lewisburg’s COVID-19 outbreak and its effect on the surrounding county’s coronavirus case numbers. Nevertheless, any Congressional focus on the highhandedness of BOP management – whether it’s the dismissive treatment of its staff or the cavalier approach to the communities in which the agency facilities are located – can only help.

Pennlive.com, Congressman creates bipartisan Bureau of Prisons Reform Caucus (August 14, 2020)

WNEP-TV, Lawmakers form prison reform caucus (August 14, 2020)

– Thomas L. Root