Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Appropriations subcommittee grills BOP on staffing shortfalls as incentives are cut
Summary
Witnesses and members told the House Appropriations subcommittee that the Federal Bureau of Prisons is understaffed by thousands of correctional officers, is reducing retention incentives and relying on overtime and augmentation; members warned those moves risk inmate programming and officer safety.
Chairman Rogers, Chair of the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Activities Subcommittee, and Ranking Member Meng heard testimony from Associate Deputy Director Kathleen Toomey on the Bureau of Prisons' staffing and pay strategies during an oversight hearing.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has "over 153,000 Federal offenders in our custody," Toomey said, and told the subcommittee the agency has "more than 4,000 vacant positions" across its workforce. Toomey also said BOP's authorized corrections officer (CO) staffing is 20,446 and that onboard COs are roughly 15,992, leaving an estimated shortfall of about 3,000 officers from the authorized level.
Why it matters: Members said shortages threaten safety and the bureau's ability to deliver recidivism-reduction programming established under the First Step Act. Ranking Member Meng said the shortfall is serious. "I view the staffing issues facing the BOP, as a life and death…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
