Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (May 6, 2025)—Today, Rep. Lucy McBath, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, delivered opening remarks at a joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Oversight examining the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Below are Ranking Member McBath’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at today’s hearing.

WATCH Ranking Member McBath’s opening statement.

Ranking Member Lucy McBath
Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance
Joint Hearing on “Federal Corrections in Focus: Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons”
May 6, 2025

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for having this hearing on the oversight of the Bureau of Prisons.

While it has not been long since we last discussed this issue, the problems in our federal prisons—many of which are decades in the making—continue to demand our attention. The many issues faced by BOP are the result of year after year of extremely limited resources. At a time when the President and his allies in Congress are talking about radical cuts, it is critical that we take note of how a severely limited budget has already affected the health and safety of everyone who enters a BOP facility. There are more than 150,000 federal inmates, and more than 35,000 BOP staff members depending on us to give them the tools and resources to keep everyone safe. 

Far too often, BOP has not guaranteed the basic safety of everyone in its care. These failures have often fallen especially hard on women in BOP custody, like those at Federal Corrections Institution, Dublin in California. For years, women at FCI Dublin faced horrific sexual abuse, including harassment, coerced sexual activity, and even rape. Inmates who tried to speak up faced harsh retaliation, and those responsible managed to cover up their conduct for years. Seven correctional officers, including the prison’s warden, have been sentenced as a result of the years of misconduct, but the abuse faced by their victims cannot be undone.  

Last April, BOP abruptly shut down FCI Dublin, in some cases sending inmates far from their families and the lawyers working to help them. Some reported being singled out and bullied at their new facilities—such as being denied soap, served worse food, and being forced to sleep on soiled beds—all because they were perceived as speaking out against the abuses that shut down FCI Dublin. Earlier this year, a judge signed a consent decree that, among other things, requires BOP to report on the medical and mental health of former Dublin inmates, ensure they have access to rape crisis centers, review their disciplinary records, expunge any disciplinary actions that were actually retaliation, and limit the inappropriate use of solitary confinement, potentially used to retaliate against them or isolate them so that they might be subject to further abuse.  

We must ensure that we do not allow an incident like this to ever happen again.  

And safety is the bare minimum. The vast majority of imprisoned persons will eventually be released and rejoin our communities. How they spend their time in prison has a profound effect on who they will be when they are released. This was a basic premise of the First Step Act—a bipartisan bill that provided more opportunities for inmates to make the most of their time through evidence-based programs that reduce recidivism. These programs help inmates get treatment for addiction, gain job skills, learn how to read, strengthen their family relationships, and learn how to resolve conflicts. Inmates who put in the time and effort to improve themselves can earn an earlier release. The First Step Act was a historic step toward providing better opportunities for rehabilitation that will ultimately benefit all of our communities because more people will come out of prison prepared to make better choices and turn away from crime. And despite challenges in implementation, that positive change is already happening: an analysis by the Council on Criminal Justice found that people who participated in First Step Act programs and were released early were 55% less likely to commit another crime.  

If this Administration—and congressional Republicans—don’t follow through by investing in the First Step Act, they’ll be locking people up without any plan for the future. This country would be stuck in old, failed policies in which prisons would be dangerous, hostile places for inmates and staff, and inmates would be released without any more skills and even less hope than they came in with. If we don’t invest in the First Step Act—a bipartisan bill signed into law by President Trump—then we are setting people up to fail even before they are released from custody. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The First Step Act can unlock a future with fewer people incarcerated, more people contributing to their communities, and safer places for all of us to live. We must invest in the First Step Act to be sure it reaches its full potential. 

Likewise, we must fund the Federal Prison Oversight Act, a bipartisan law that I was proud to lead, which was signed into law last year. This law will require the Department of Justice’s Inspector General to assess the risk of problems at each BOP facility, to inspect high-risk facilities more frequently, to provide recommendations to fix problems, and to report its findings and recommendations to Congress and the public. The law requires BOP to respond to all inspection reports within 60 days with a corrective action plan. This overhaul of BOP oversight can ensure the health and safety of everyone in BOP facilities and is especially important to uncover misconduct like what occurred at FCI Dublin much earlier so that swift action can be taken to protect victims and discipline those who do not fulfill their duty to treat inmates with basic human dignity.  

But this law will only take effect once it is funded. We already have bipartisan agreement that this is the right action to take to address BOP’s problems. We must continue that bipartisanship in investing in better oversight of the BOP by providing the funding that will make the Federal Prison Oversight Act a reality.

Together, I know we can not only improve BOP but improve the lives of those who serve time in its facilities so that they can choose to turn their lives around and contribute to their communities—which are all of our communities. 

Thank you. I yield back.