[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 687 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 687
To encourage States to report to the Attorney General certain
information regarding inmates who give birth in the custody of law
enforcement agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 24, 2025
Mr. Ossoff (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To encourage States to report to the Attorney General certain
information regarding inmates who give birth in the custody of law
enforcement agencies, 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 ``Births in Custody Reporting Act of
2025'' or the ``BCRA of 2025''.
SEC. 2. STATE INFORMATION REGARDING PREGNANT INDIVIDUALS AND
INDIVIDUALS WHO GIVE BIRTH IN THE CUSTODY OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``boot camp prison''
and ``State'' have the meanings given those terms, respectively, in
section 901(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251(a)).
(b) Report.--For each fiscal year after the expiration of the
period specified in subsection (e)(1) in which a State receives funds
for a program referred to in subsection (e)(2), the State shall report
to the Attorney General, on a quarterly basis and pursuant to
guidelines established by the Attorney General, anonymized and
aggregate information regarding any inmates who are pregnant or who
have given birth while detained or incarcerated at a custodial facility
within the jurisdiction of the State, including a municipal or county
jail, State prison, State-run boot camp prison, boot camp prison that
is contracted out by the State, any State or local contract facility,
or other local or State correctional facility (including any juvenile
facility).
(c) Information Required.--The report required by subsection (b)
shall contain information that, at a minimum, includes--
(1) the total number of pregnant inmates in custody to date
in that calendar year;
(2) the race and ethnicity of each pregnant inmate
described in paragraph (1);
(3) the quarter of admission to custody for each pregnant
inmate described under paragraph (1);
(4) whether each female inmate was administered a pregnancy
test not later than 1 week after admission to custody;
(5) whether each pregnant inmate received a prenatal visit
with a qualified medical professional not later than 7 days
after facility personnel determined that the inmate was
pregnant;
(6) the outcome of each inmate's pregnancy if the pregnancy
occurred while the inmate was in custody, including live birth,
stillbirth, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, maternal death,
neonatal death, and preterm birth;
(7) the quarter when the pregnant inmate was released from
custody or when the pregnancy outcome described in paragraph
(6) occurred, whichever occurs first;
(8) whether each outcome under paragraph (6) took place at
the custodial facility or at an off-site location, and if at an
off-site location, which off-site location;
(9) the number of times that restraints were used on each
pregnant inmate, the type of restraint used, and the
justification for the use of restraints, and including the
following information--
(A) whether restraints were used during pregnancy,
during labor, or during delivery;
(B) whether restraints were used while the pregnant
inmate was in transit between the custodial facility
and medical appointments, a hospital, or court
proceedings; and
(C) whether restraints were used on the pregnant
inmate's ankles, wrists, or abdomen;
(10) the number of pregnant inmates who were still in
custody postpartum, defined as at least 12 weeks after
delivery, and information about each of those inmates,
including--
(A) whether each inmate, as described in this
paragraph, received a screening for postpartum
depression with a qualified medical provider; and
(B) whether each inmate, as described in this
paragraph, received a postpartum medical appointment
with a qualified medical provider not later than 2
weeks after delivery; and
(11) the total number of inmates described in paragraphs
(1) and (10) who were placed in restrictive housing while
pregnant or postpartum, the reason for such placement, and the
amount of time spent in restrictive housing.
(d) Personally Identifiable Information.--Data collected under
subsection (c) may not contain any personally identifiable information
of any incarcerated pregnant or postpartum inmate.
(e) Compliance and Ineligibility.--
(1) Compliance date.--Each State shall have not more than
120 days from the date of enactment of this Act to comply with
subsection (b), except that the Attorney General may grant an
additional 120 days to a State that is making good faith
efforts to comply with such subsection.
(2) Ineligibility for funds.--For any fiscal year after the
expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State
that fails to comply with subsection (b), shall, at the
discretion of the Attorney General, be subject to not more than
a 10-percent reduction of the funds that would otherwise be
allocated for that fiscal year to the State under subpart 1 of
part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.).
(f) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under the program referred
to in subsection (e)(2) to a State for failure to fully comply with
subsection (b) shall be reallocated under that program to States that
have not failed to comply with such subsection.
(g) Publication of Reports by Attorney General.--The Attorney
General shall make available to the public each report submitted under
subsection (b).
(h) Study Required.--The Attorney General shall carry out a study
on the information reported under subsection (c) to--
(1) determine means by which such information can be used
to improve the treatment of inmates who are pregnant or who
have given birth at the jails, prisons, and other specified
facilities covered in the reports; and
(2) examine--
(A) the relationship, if any, between stillbirths,
miscarriages, maternal deaths, neonatal deaths, and
preterm births that occur while inmates are in custody;
and
(B) the actions of management of such jails,
prisons, and other specified facilities.
(i) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall prepare and submit to
Congress a report that contains the findings of the study required by
subsection (h).
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