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H.R. 4355

U.S. House•In House Committee

Summary

H.R. 4355, the Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025, was introduced in the House on Jul 10, 2025 by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R) with 2 co-sponsors. It was referred to Judiciary, and last saw action on Jul 10, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Record

Text

H.R. 4355 has 2 co-sponsors.

hb4355/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 4355 IH: Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-07-10
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 4355  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   July 10, 2025   Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania  (for himself and  Mr. Landsman ) introduced the following bill; which was 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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025  .
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 $7,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2018.
(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 2018.
(3)
As of 2019, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons oversaw 122 facilities and was responsible for the welfare of more than 176,000 Federal inmates.
(4)
As of 2019, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons supervised more than 36,000 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.
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.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-07-10
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Jul 10, 2025

hb4355/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (07/10/2025)

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.

Sponsors

Rep. Glenn Thompson (R) sponsors H.R. 4355, and 2 members have co-sponsored it, 1 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 4355 went before 1 committee: Judiciary.

Judiciary
Judiciary
Referred To · Jul 10, 2025 · 2,181 Bills

Actions

H.R. 4355 has taken 2 actions since Jul 10, 2025.

ChamberAction
Jul 10, 2025
House
Introduced in House
Jul 10, 2025
House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.Judiciary Committee

Votes

H.R. 4355 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to H.R. 4355.

Titles

H.R. 4355 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025 — Display Title
  • Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025 — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. — Official Title as Introduced

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 4355 under Crime and Law Enforcement, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 4355’s is Crime and Law Enforcement.

hr4355/policy-areas.txt
Crime and Law EnforcementAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 4355, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 119 (Thursday, July 10, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania:H.R. 4355.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution inthat the legislation exercises legislative powers granted toCongress by that clause ``to make all Laws which shall benecessary and proper for carrying into Execution theforegoing Powers and all other Powers vested by theConstitution in the Government of the United States or anyDepartment or Office thereof.''[Page H3201]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com