Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act

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Bill ID: 119/s/307
Last Updated: April 8, 2026

Sponsored by

Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

ID: B001243

Follow the money

The bill

Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act

S. 307, 119th Congress β€” read as touching Private Prisons & Immigration Detention.

The sponsor

Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$166,000 raised

26 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Held at the desk.

May 4, 2025

Introduced

πŸ“ Current Status

Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.

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Committee Review

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Floor Action

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Passed Senate

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House Review

πŸŽ‰

Passed Congress

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Presidential Action

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Became Law

πŸ“š How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another exercise in legislative theater, where our esteemed lawmakers pretend to care about the well-being of prison staff while actually doing nothing but grandstanding for votes and campaign donations.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act (S 307) claims to address the rampant sexual harassment and assault of Bureau of Prisons staff by inmates. The bill's primary objective is to implement recommendations from a 2023 Inspector General report, which exposed the Bureau's ineptitude in collecting data on these incidents and mitigating their occurrence.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill requires the Bureau to:

1. Implement the Inspector General's recommendations within 90 days. 2. Provide updated data on sexual harassment and assault incidents to the Inspector General for analysis. 3. Conduct an analysis of punishments for these incidents in facilities controlled by the Bureau.

The Attorney General is then required to promulgate a rule adopting national standards for prevention, reduction, and punishment of these incidents within one year of receiving the analysis.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:**

* Bureau of Prisons staff (the supposed beneficiaries of this bill) * Inmates (who will likely continue to harass and assault staff with impunity) * The Inspector General (who gets to produce more reports that will be ignored by lawmakers) * Lawmakers themselves (who get to pretend they care about prison reform while doing nothing meaningful)

**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It does not address the root causes of these incidents, such as understaffing, inadequate training, and poor facility design. The Bureau will likely continue to fail in collecting accurate data and implementing effective mitigation strategies.

The real impact of this bill will be:

1. More paperwork for bureaucrats. 2. A temporary PR boost for lawmakers who voted for it. 3. Continued suffering for prison staff who will remain vulnerable to harassment and assault.

In short, this bill is a farce, a cynical attempt to appear concerned about prison reform while doing nothing to actually address the problem. It's a classic case of "legislative lupus" – a disease where lawmakers pretend to care about an issue but ultimately do more harm than good.

Related Topics

Criminal Justice & Law EnforcementGovernment Operations & Accountability
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

πŸ’° Campaign Finance Network

Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

Congress 119 β€’ 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$166,000
23 donors
PACs
$5,000
Organizations
$7,900
Committees
$0
Individuals
$153,100
1
FRIENDS OF COMMUNITY ONCOLOGY PAC
1 transaction
$5,000
1
THE COGGIN GROUP
2 transactions
$5,400
2
DOSS BROTHERS FARM
2 transactions
$2,000
3
BL PARTNERS GROUP LLC
1 transaction
$500

No committee contributions found

1
KING, RODNEY W.
1 transaction
$13,200
2
KINNEY, CHRIS
2 transactions
$13,200
3
BEAN, BILL G.
1 transaction
$10,000
4
SMITH, THOMAS
1 transaction
$10,000
5
GAMBLE, KATHRYN
1 transaction
$9,900
6
NEWVERRY, KARMA
1 transaction
$9,900
7
WETHERINGTON, WILLIAM MICHAEL MR.
1 transaction
$7,600
8
HAMPTON, GEORGE
1 transaction
$6,700
9
HARWELL, SAMUEL K. MR. IV
1 transaction
$6,600
10
HARWELL, SAMUEL K.
1 transaction
$6,600
11
KING, MARY L.
1 transaction
$6,600
12
SENSING, LUCY T. MRS.
1 transaction
$6,600
13
VITAL, GREG A.
1 transaction
$6,600
14
BRADLEY, JACQUELINE
1 transaction
$6,600
15
PRESTON, CASEY MS.
1 transaction
$6,600
16
DEVOS, BETSY
1 transaction
$6,600
17
DEVOS, DANIEL G. MR.
1 transaction
$6,600
18
DEVOS, DOUGLAS L. MR.
1 transaction
$6,600
19
DEVOS, RICHARD M. JR.
1 transaction
$6,600

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 3 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA]

ID: O000174

Top Contributors

10

1
THOMAS, TORI
IndividualMCLEAN, VA
$9,100
Jun 30, 2024
2
MCCLURE, RODERICK
RODFATHER PRODUCTIONS β€’ BUSINESS OWNER
IndividualALPHARETTA, GA
$6,600
Nov 25, 2024
3
MCCLURE, RODERICK
IndividualALPHARETTA, GA
$6,600
Dec 23, 2024
4
HOLLANDER, ELLEN
NOT EMPLOYED β€’ NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualROSWELL, GA
$5,000
Oct 6, 2024
5
HOLLANDER, ELLEN
IndividualROSWELL, GA
$5,000
Oct 14, 2024
6
MILLER, KRISTIE
SELF EMPLOYED β€’ WRITER
IndividualWASHINGTON, DC
$3,300
Jun 5, 2024
7
RECHNITZ, JOAN
NOT EMPLOYED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualRED BANK, NJ
$3,300
Apr 22, 2024
8
HOPPER, HEIDI
NOT EMPLOYED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualMENLO PARK, CA
$3,300
May 3, 2024
9
BRASCH, JOHN
NOT EMPLOYED β€’ NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualLINCOLN, NE
$3,300
Apr 16, 2024
10
ARNOLD, JOHN
ARNOLD VENTURES β€’ CO-FOUNDER
IndividualHOUSTON, TX
$3,300
Apr 2, 2024

Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV]

ID: J000312

Top Contributors

10

1
VECELLIO, LEO A. JR.
SELF-EMPLOYED β€’ CORP EXEC
IndividualPALM BEACH, FL
$13,200
Jun 1, 2023
2
HASLAM, JAMES A. II
PILOT FLYING J β€’ CHAIRMAN
IndividualKNOXVILLE, TN
$13,200
Jun 28, 2023
3
MCCLUNG, RICHARD E.
RETIRED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualLEWISBURG, WV
$13,200
Jun 30, 2023
4
MILLER, CHRISTOPHER D.
DUTCH MILLER KIA β€’ OWNER
IndividualHUNTINGTON, WV
$13,200
Jun 30, 2023
5
WAY, GLENN MR.
CHARTER ONE β€’ FOUNDER
IndividualQUEEN CREEK, AZ
$10,000
Oct 18, 2023
6
BUNN, JAMES O.
SELF-EMPLOYED β€’ MINING ENGINEER
IndividualBRISTOL, VA
$6,600
Sep 30, 2023
7
CORRIGAN, FREDRIC W.
IndividualEDINA, MN
$6,600
Sep 30, 2023
8
ERICKSON, KRISTINE S. MRS.
RETIRED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualEDINA, MN
$6,600
Sep 30, 2023
9
ERICKSON, RONALD A. MR.
RETIRED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualEDINA, MN
$6,600
Sep 30, 2023
10
KROLL, MARK W. DR.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA β€’ ADJUNCT FULL PROFESSOR
IndividualCRYSTAL BAY, MN
$6,600
Sep 30, 2023

Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ]

ID: K000377

Top Contributors

10

1
PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE
OrganizationTUCSON, AZ
$3,300
Oct 23, 2023
2
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$2,500
May 23, 2024
3
GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY
OrganizationSACATON, AZ
$1,000
Jun 15, 2023
4
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,000
Aug 12, 2024
5
CORMIER, STEPHEN
IndividualMANSFIELD, LA
$6,000
Dec 31, 2023
6
LEWIS, PAUL
NOT EMPLOYED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualKINGMAN, AZ
$5,000
Oct 23, 2024
7
LEWIS, PAUL
IndividualKINGMAN, AZ
$5,000
Dec 6, 2024
8
BASS, JOSEPH P
NOT EMPLOYED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualPORTLAND, OR
$5,000
Mar 29, 2024
9
PEROT, MARGOT B
NOT EMPLOYED β€’ RETIRED
IndividualDALLAS, TX
$5,000
Apr 8, 2024
10
MILLER, JUDITH
IndividualINDIANAPOLIS, IN
$5,000
Sep 11, 2024

Donor Network - Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 59 nodes and 35 connections (55 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $234,700

Top Donors - Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

Showing top 23 donors by contribution amount

1 PAC3 Orgs19 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 helped, 1 harmed.

  • Section 3(b)(1) requires the Bureau of Prisons to fully implement Inspector General recommendations within 90 days, which will increase oversight and operational requirements for federal prisons, potentially reducing reliance on private prison contractors and imposing costs on that industry.

  • Section 3(c)(1)(A)-(C) mandates data collection and analysis by the Inspector General on sexual harassment and assault incidents, which could increase demand for surveillance and monitoring technologies used in prisons to detect and prevent such incidents, benefiting law enforcement surveillance tech firms.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent β€” they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HARMS

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