H.R. 8131

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8131 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8131

To improve the oversight of inmate accounts, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 26, 2024

Mr. Gooden of Texas (for himself, Mr. Tiffany, and Mr. Weber of Texas) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To improve the oversight of inmate accounts, 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 ``Bureau of Prisons Inmate Trust Fund 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. PRISON INMATE FUNDS.

(a) In General.--Chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 4044 the following:
``Sec. 4044A. Oversight of inmate funds
``(a) Centralization and Digitization.--Not later than September 
30, 2025, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, in coordination with 
the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, shall 
centralize access to and digitize covered inmate accounts.
``(b) Monitoring.--Not later than September 30, 2025, and every 6 
months thereafter, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, in 
coordination with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, shall monitor covered inmate accounts to deter and report 
illicit financial activity.
``(c) Monthly Account Information Transfers.--Not later than 
September 30, 2025, and every month thereafter, the Director of the 
Bureau of Prisons shall transfer any pertinent account information, 
including deposits and withdrawals, to the Treasury Offset Program of 
the Department of Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service and the 
Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Health and 
Human Services.
``(d) Application of TOP to Prisoner Trust Funds.--Covered inmate 
accounts shall be subject to the Treasury Offset Program, operated by 
the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, with 
respect to any funds exceeding $500 for a fiscal year.
``(e) Debt Collection.--In carrying out subsection (d), the 
following shall apply:
``(1) Prioritization.--Payments shall be prioritized as 
follows:
``(A) Victim restitution.
``(B) Child support.
``(C) Other outstanding debts.
``(2) Management.--Appropriate efforts shall be made to 
assist the inmate in making reasonable payments to satisfy the 
debts of the inmate.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered inmate accounts.--The term `covered inmate 
accounts' means each inmate account in the following trust 
funds:
``(A) Funds of Federal prisoners.
``(B) Commissary funds, Federal prisons.
``(2) Director of the bureau of prions.--The term `Director 
of the Bureau of Prisons' means the Attorney General, acting 
through the Director of the Bureau of Prisons.
``(3) Director of the financial crimes enforcement 
network.--The term `Director of the Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network' means the Secretary of the Treasure, 
acting through the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 303 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
related to section 4044 the following:

``4044A. Oversight of inmate funds.''.

SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS.

Section 5318(g) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (11) as paragraph (12); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (10) the following:
``(11) Reporting by the bureau of prisons.--
``(A) In general.--The requirement to report a 
suspicious transaction under this subsection shall 
apply to the Attorney General (acting through the 
Director of the Bureau of Prisons), with respect to 
transactions in a covered trust fund, to the same 
extent as such requirement applies to financial 
institutions.
``(B) Covered trust fund defined.--In this 
paragraph, the term `covered inmate accounts' means 
each inmate account in the following trust funds:
``(i) Funds of Federal prisoners.
``(ii) Commissary funds, Federal 
prisons.''.

SEC. 4. TASK FORCE.

(a) In General.--The Attorney General (in consultation with the 
Director of the Bureau of Prisons and the Director of the Executive 
Office for United States Attorneys), the Director of the Administrative 
Office of the United States Courts, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (in consultation with the Commissioner of the Office of Child 
Support Enforcement), the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director 
of the United States Marshals Service, shall establish a joint task 
force (referred to in this section as the ``Inmate Financial 
Accountability Task Force'')--
(1) to develop a strategic plan to improve the criminal and 
civil debt collection process and establish an effective 
coordination mechanism among each entity involved in such 
process; and
(2) to develop a strategic plan to improve oversight of 
Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts for detecting and 
deterring illicit financial activity and money laundering.
(b) Required Review of Procedures.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Inmate Financial 
Accountability Task Force shall--
(1) review the long-standing problems in the collection of 
outstanding criminal and civil debt, including fragmented 
processes and lack of coordination;
(2) review and enhance training and examination procedures 
to improve the capabilities of criminal and civil debt 
reporting and collection by Federal agencies;
(3) recommend the proper accounting, reporting, collecting, 
and managing of criminal and civil debt eligible for referral 
to Treasury for collection actions;
(4) review and enhance training and examinations procedures 
to improve the capabilities of anti-money laundering to detect 
financial transactions relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate 
Trust Fund Accounts;
(5) review and enhance procedures for referring potential 
cases relating to money laundering and illicit financial 
activity to the appropriate law enforcement agency; and
(6) determine, as appropriate, whether requirements for 
Bureau of Prisons are sufficient to detect and deter money 
laundering relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund 
Accounts.
(c) Reports.--
(1) Criminal and civil debt collection report.--Not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Inmate Financial Accountability Task Force shall submit to 
the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate, a report containing--
(A) an analysis of criminal and civil debt 
collection efforts of the United States Government;
(B) appropriate legislative, administrative, and 
other recommendations to strengthen criminal and civil 
debt collection processes; and
(C) required recommendations, including--
(i) feedback from stakeholders, including 
victims of crime advocacy groups, such as the 
National Association of Victim Assistance 
Administrators, National Association of Victim 
Compensation Board Administrators, National 
Child Support Enforcement Association, National 
Tribal Child Support Association, National 
Attorney General Association, Council of Prison 
Locals 33, and financial institutions, on 
policy proposals derived from the analysis 
conducted by the Inmate Financial 
Accountability Task Force that would enhance 
the efforts and programs of Federal and State 
agencies to improve criminal and civil debt 
reporting and collection, including any 
recommended changes to internal policies, 
procedures, and controls;
(ii) any recommended changes to expand 
information sharing relating to criminal and 
civil debt reporting and collection between 
financial institutions, appropriate law 
enforcement agencies, appropriate State 
agencies, and appropriate Federal agencies;
(iii) any recommended changes to enhance 
the efforts and programs of Federal and State 
agencies to improve criminal and civil debt 
reporting and collection and expand information 
sharing of the Bureau of Prison Trust Fund 
Inmate Trust Fund Accounts with appropriate law 
enforcement agencies; and
(iv) any recommended changes, if necessary, 
to existing statutes to more effectively report 
and collect criminal and civil debt.
(2) Anti-money laundering report.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Inmate 
Financial Accountability Task Force shall submit to the 
Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate, a report containing--
(A) an analysis of anti-money laundering efforts of 
the United States Government and United States 
financial institutions relating to Bureau of Prison 
Inmate Trust Fund Accounts;
(B) appropriate legislative, administrative, and 
other recommendations to improve anti-money laundering 
efforts relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund 
Accounts; and
(C) required recommendations, including--
(i) feedback from Federal agencies on best 
practices of successful programs related to 
anti-money laundering efforts in place that may 
be suitable for broader adoption by the 
Director of the Bureau of Prison;
(ii) feedback from stakeholders, including 
law enforcement agencies and financial 
institutions, on policy proposals derived from 
the analysis conducted by the Inmate Financial 
Accountability Task Force that would enhance 
anti-money laundering efforts and oversight of 
Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts, 
including any recommended changes to internal 
policies, procedures, and controls to improve 
anti-money laundering efforts;
(iii) any recommended changes to training 
programs at the Bureau of Prisons to better 
equip employees to deter and detect money 
laundering relating to Bureau of Prison Inmate 
Trust Fund Accounts; and
(iv) recommended changes, if necessary, to 
existing statute to more effectively detect and 
deter money laundering relating to Bureau of 
Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts.
(d) Limitation.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
grant rulemaking authority to the Task Force.
(e) Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts.--In this section, 
the term ``Bureau of Prison Inmate Trust Fund Accounts'' refers to the 
following trust funds:
(1) Funds of Federal prisoners.
(2) Commissary funds, Federal prisons.
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