[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8131 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8131
To improve the oversight of inmate accounts, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 26, 2024
Mr. Gooden of Texas (for himself, Mr. Tiffany, and Mr. Weber of Texas)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the oversight of inmate accounts, and for other purposes.
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 ``Bureau of Prisons Inmate Trust Fund
Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. PRISON INMATE FUNDS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 4044 the following:
``Sec. 4044A. Oversight of inmate funds
``(a) Centralization and Digitization.--Not later than September
30, 2025, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, in coordination with
the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, shall
centralize access to and digitize covered inmate accounts.
``(b) Monitoring.--Not later than September 30, 2025, and every 6
months thereafter, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, in
coordination with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network, shall monitor covered inmate accounts to deter and report
illicit financial activity.
``(c) Monthly Account Information Transfers.--Not later than
September 30, 2025, and every month thereafter, the Director of the
Bureau of Prisons shall transfer any pertinent account information,
including deposits and withdrawals, to the Treasury Offset Program of
the Department of Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service and the
Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
``(d) Application of TOP to Prisoner Trust Funds.--Covered inmate
accounts shall be subject to the Treasury Offset Program, operated by
the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, with
respect to any funds exceeding $500 for a fiscal year.
``(e) Debt Collection.--In carrying out subsection (d), the
following shall apply:
``(1) Prioritization.--Payments shall be prioritized as
follows:
``(A) Victim restitution.
``(B) Child support.
``(C) Other outstanding debts.
``(2) Management.--Appropriate efforts shall be made to
assist the inmate in making reasonable payments to satisfy the
debts of the inmate.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered inmate accounts.--The term `covered inmate
accounts' means each inmate account in the following trust
funds:
``(A) Funds of Federal prisoners.
``(B) Commissary funds, Federal prisons.
``(2) Director of the bureau of prions.--The term `Director
of the Bureau of Prisons' means the Attorney General, acting
through the Director of the Bureau of Prisons.
``(3) Director of the financial crimes enforcement
network.--The term `Director of the Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network' means the Secretary of the Treasure,
acting through the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 303 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
related to section 4044 the following:
``4044A. Oversight of inmate funds.''.
SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS.
Section 5318(g) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (11) as paragraph (12); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (10) the following:
``(11) Reporting by the bureau of prisons.--
``(A) In general.--The requirement to report a
suspicious transaction under this subsection shall
apply to the Attorney General (acting through the
Director of the Bureau of Prisons), with respect to
transactions in a covered trust fund, to the same
extent as such requirement applies to financial
institutions.
``(B) Covered trust fund defined.--In this
paragraph, the term `covered inmate accounts' means
each inmate account in the following trust funds:
``(i) Funds of Federal prisoners.
``(ii) Commissary funds, Federal
prisons.''.
SEC. 4. TASK FORCE.
(a) In General.--The Attorney General (in consultation with the
Director of the Bureau of Prisons and the Director of the Executive
Office for United States Attorneys), the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (in consultation with the Commissioner of the Office of Child
Support Enforcement), the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director
of the United States Marshals Service, shall establish a joint task
force (referred to in this section as the ``Inmate Financial
Accountability Task Force'')--
(1) to develop a strategic plan to improve the criminal and
civil debt collection process and establish an effective
coordination mechanism among each entity involved in such
process; and
(2) to develop a strategic plan to improve oversight of
Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts for detecting and
deterring illicit financial activity and money laundering.
(b) Required Review of Procedures.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this section, the Inmate Financial
Accountability Task Force shall--
(1) review the long-standing problems in the collection of
outstanding criminal and civil debt, including fragmented
processes and lack of coordination;
(2) review and enhance training and examination procedures
to improve the capabilities of criminal and civil debt
reporting and collection by Federal agencies;
(3) recommend the proper accounting, reporting, collecting,
and managing of criminal and civil debt eligible for referral
to Treasury for collection actions;
(4) review and enhance training and examinations procedures
to improve the capabilities of anti-money laundering to detect
financial transactions relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate
Trust Fund Accounts;
(5) review and enhance procedures for referring potential
cases relating to money laundering and illicit financial
activity to the appropriate law enforcement agency; and
(6) determine, as appropriate, whether requirements for
Bureau of Prisons are sufficient to detect and deter money
laundering relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund
Accounts.
(c) Reports.--
(1) Criminal and civil debt collection report.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section,
the Inmate Financial Accountability Task Force shall submit to
the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate, a report containing--
(A) an analysis of criminal and civil debt
collection efforts of the United States Government;
(B) appropriate legislative, administrative, and
other recommendations to strengthen criminal and civil
debt collection processes; and
(C) required recommendations, including--
(i) feedback from stakeholders, including
victims of crime advocacy groups, such as the
National Association of Victim Assistance
Administrators, National Association of Victim
Compensation Board Administrators, National
Child Support Enforcement Association, National
Tribal Child Support Association, National
Attorney General Association, Council of Prison
Locals 33, and financial institutions, on
policy proposals derived from the analysis
conducted by the Inmate Financial
Accountability Task Force that would enhance
the efforts and programs of Federal and State
agencies to improve criminal and civil debt
reporting and collection, including any
recommended changes to internal policies,
procedures, and controls;
(ii) any recommended changes to expand
information sharing relating to criminal and
civil debt reporting and collection between
financial institutions, appropriate law
enforcement agencies, appropriate State
agencies, and appropriate Federal agencies;
(iii) any recommended changes to enhance
the efforts and programs of Federal and State
agencies to improve criminal and civil debt
reporting and collection and expand information
sharing of the Bureau of Prison Trust Fund
Inmate Trust Fund Accounts with appropriate law
enforcement agencies; and
(iv) any recommended changes, if necessary,
to existing statutes to more effectively report
and collect criminal and civil debt.
(2) Anti-money laundering report.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this section, the Inmate
Financial Accountability Task Force shall submit to the
Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate, a report containing--
(A) an analysis of anti-money laundering efforts of
the United States Government and United States
financial institutions relating to Bureau of Prison
Inmate Trust Fund Accounts;
(B) appropriate legislative, administrative, and
other recommendations to improve anti-money laundering
efforts relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund
Accounts; and
(C) required recommendations, including--
(i) feedback from Federal agencies on best
practices of successful programs related to
anti-money laundering efforts in place that may
be suitable for broader adoption by the
Director of the Bureau of Prison;
(ii) feedback from stakeholders, including
law enforcement agencies and financial
institutions, on policy proposals derived from
the analysis conducted by the Inmate Financial
Accountability Task Force that would enhance
anti-money laundering efforts and oversight of
Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts,
including any recommended changes to internal
policies, procedures, and controls to improve
anti-money laundering efforts;
(iii) any recommended changes to training
programs at the Bureau of Prisons to better
equip employees to deter and detect money
laundering relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate
Trust Fund Accounts; and
(iv) recommended changes, if necessary, to
existing statute to more effectively detect and
deter money laundering relating to Bureau of
Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts.
(d) Limitation.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to
grant rulemaking authority to the Task Force.
(e) Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts.--In this section,
the term ``Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts'' refers to the
following trust funds:
(1) Funds of Federal prisoners.
(2) Commissary funds, Federal prisons.
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