Hearing of the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Goodlatte, Hearing on Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Hearing
Welcome, Director Inch. I thank you for your service, and I'm happy you are here with us today. I also want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for holding this oversight hearing.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is tasked with protecting society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure, and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens. It is the duty of BOP not to merely warehouse federal inmates, but to assist those inmates in becoming law-abiding citizens upon their release. We all have an interest in that, since as we all know, the vast majority of Federal inmates -- well above 90 percent -- will someday be released. It is for this reason that I am deeply concerned about the precipitous drop in the number of inmates employed in proven reentry programs, such as the Federal Prison Industries program.
Last year, FPI only employed 10,566 inmates.
This reflects a reduction of more than two-thirds in the percentage of eligible inmates working in the FPI program -- from 25% in 2000 to approximately 6% in 2016. The steep decline in this program has a deleterious impact on both prison operations and inmate recidivism. First, correctional worker representatives cite this decline as a significant contributor to the increase in inmate-on-officer assaults the BOP has experienced in recent years.
Second, inmates who work in FPI are 24% less likely to re-offend upon release from prison than non-FPI inmates, and 14% more likely to be gainfully employed post-incarceration. We must ensure that participation in FPI is maximized to the fullest extent possible, to protect the hardworking men and women of the BOP and to give inmates the best chance of succeeding when they are released. I look forward to working with you, Director Inch, to ensure this happens.
Finally, this Committee will soon consider criminal justice reform legislation, including prison reform. I hope that BOP will be a collaborative partner in this process. We all have an interest in ensuring inmates can successfully reenter society. They need to be better citizens, not better criminals.
Director Inch, I thank you again for being here and for your continued service. I look forward to your testimony regarding the challenges facing BOP.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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