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Washington, D.C. (May 6, 2025)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, delivered opening remarks at a joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight and the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, on oversight of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Below are Ranking Member Raskin’s remarks at today’s hearing.

WATCH Ranking Member Raskin’s opening statement

Ranking Member Jamie Raskin
House Judiciary Committee
Joint Hearing on “Federal Corrections in Focus: Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons”
May 6, 2025

Thank you kindly. Within his first 100 days, President Trump has made moves that I’m afraid will only exacerbate long-standing problems that interfere with the Bureau of Prisons’ ability to safely incapacitate and rehabilitate its prisoners.

The President issued an Executive Order that rescinded the Biden administration’s prohibition on BOP’s continued use of private prisons, opening the door for a renewed reliance on private facilities where the federal government has little oversight and where inmates have been shown to be less safe and less able to access necessary medical care. 

President Trump also unlawfully rescinded the collective bargaining rights of a huge number of federal workers, more than a million federal workers in federal unions, including those representing Bureau of Prison employees—essentially stifling the voices of frontline officers during a period when their voices are very badly needed. 

Once again, a federal judge had to step in to block President Trump’s Executive Order from taking effect after unions sued—one of now more than 130 court orders blocking the administration’s violations of the law and the Constitution. 

The Administration also rescinded retention-based incentives for BOP employees that amount to cuts essentially of around 25% of their pay rates. These cuts have triggered mass resignations among BOP employees, whose ranks were already stretched way too thin. 

How can we expect to bolster the culture and the effectiveness of the BOP workforce if we are slashing their pay? Do any of us know of any institutions where that might work?

In the face of this mass resignation of correctional officers, BOP will have to resort to even more “augmentation,” which is the term describing use of employees other than correctional officers, people like nurses or teachers or cooks to guard inmates—a stopgap measure which obviously undermines safety for everyone. 

Facilities that are short-staffed rely also on facility-wide lockdowns more often and for longer periods of time. At the same time because of this lack of resources, inmates do not have access to the treatment, medical care, and rehabilitative programming that Congress called for in the bipartisan First Step Act, which we’re all so proud of. And despite President Trump signing the First Step Act aimed at reducing the federal prison population and aimed at reducing recidivism, the Bureau of Prisons also reduced the amount of time that inmates can spend in residential reentry centers from 18 or 19 months to a maximum of just 60 days—two months—citing budget constraints.

These residential reentry centers or “halfway houses,” as they are colloquially known, perform a critical role in helping released inmates transition back into communities across the country, providing housing, employment, substance and mental health treatment, professional counseling and medical care. But drastically cutting the amount of time that people can actually use these services will certainly lead to a reduction in their efficacy and an increase in recidivism. 

While BOP has been forced to make devastating cuts that will affect not only employees and inmates, but the safety of our communities, last week, the Judiciary Committee passed an $81 billion reconciliation bill to supercharge ICE—money that our colleagues voted to make available for arresting, detaining and deporting not just immigrants, but some U.S. citizens too. 

And just two weeks ago, the Department of Justice terminated at least 365 public safety grants totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars, cutting funds for law enforcement at the local level, opioid addiction treatment programs, programs promoting officer safety and wellness, programs for crime prevention, and programs that support the victims of rape and sexual assault and other violent crimes. 

All of us, even apparently our Republican colleagues, were blindsided by these deep cuts to existing programs that, as far as I can tell, came from a single DOGE employee. During the Committee’s consideration of reconciliation last week, I tried to restore funding to these critical grant programs through an amendment which my colleagues failed to discuss and all voted to oppose. 

I’m aware that our panel of witnesses has often worked together on criminal justice reform and to address the challenges facing BOP. I look forward to hearing from you on these important issues. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.