topics. this is about two hours. >> the committee will now come to order print out objection the chairs authorized to have recess of the committee anytime good morning again welcome to today's oversight ihearing of the federal bureau of prisons. i would like to remind members we have established an e-mail address distribution was to the circuit exhibits most other written material that members might want to offer as part of our hearing today. if you like to submit matures placing them to the e-mail address that is been previously distributed to your offices. to circulate the materials to members and staff as quickly as weekend. i would also ask all members to please make your microphones -- back to mute your microphones when you're not speaking this will help prevent feedback and other technical issues, you may unmute yourself any time you speak for recognition. i now recognize myself for an

opening statement pay today's hearing on oversight of the federal bureau of prisons is a follow-up to the hearing the subcommittee helen generate 21s, 2022. it was ourur commitment to our members that they would have the actual representative at this time of the federal bureau of prisons to be able to hear directly from the leadershipus. and to secure answers. the hearing last week told the bureau implementation the first step actiq over 19 the bureau's response to the pandemic and the implementation used for release in the bureau among other topics in the line of justice. and accountability during that hearing any questions were raised many of our members thought to speak directly to the director. the firm please have the director michael hear it today so that we may delve deeply into many issues faced by the

bureau, two years into the pandemic covid-19 most pressing and impactful issue is the virus continues to wreak havoc among many of the facilities and i am uncomfortable as to whether or not they have met the challenge and met the task. from the outset the viruses increase the health or us or people living or working in confined spaces which is especially true for prison systems were social distancing must be balanced with a need to ensure his safety and security. we continue to hear horror stories of gop facility struggling to contain the virus for instance last week that approximate 40% of inmates at the danbury correctional institution in connecticut were either isolation or quarantine with only responsible for three units. we as a congress must collaborate to ensure the remanence of c the past can't be

corrected by this administration that has a new approach a new commitment to the reformation of the system. then on monday we learned federal medical center cardwell delivers a facility in fort worth texas and myspace has the fourth highest covid positive numbers of any with 248 inmates and 46 members covid positive that died since the beginning of the pandemic. the past weeks the number of covid-19 positives in the system have fluctuated between 6009 and the same two week period use inmates to die to 84's too many inmates to

control the slow and ineffective utilization which should be with discretion the bureau has. several mechanisms within the authority to reduce the number of inmates and compassionate relief the cares act and the first step act. modified even by then attorney general barr. although using overly restrictivee criteria release thousands of prisons under the cares act reestablish themselves and their families and in their communities and importantly not reoffend with the bureau and d.o.j. should be commended for their decision to rescind the previous administration's opinion that would have called manyr of these individuals baca into custody unnecessarily. i think it is important to know that these individuals have been release for release on their application for compassionate reliefe as opposed assessing prisoners and determined they could be released which causes the problems we have now. the continue to test positive

for covenant teen and others die they have failed to effectively utilize the authority to request compassionate relief or inmates. i think they are just waiting for somebody to die. jennifer's 2020 to january 3020, 2021 there's a height of the pandemic prisons less than 1% the total compassionate relief motion filed throughout the entire country in an attempt to respond to this issue and to help alleviate the rise of spreading covertly expanded tcompassionate relief and later expanded again to allow inmates to file their own motions 30 days after the first made a request with the warden. notably one fourth of 284 inmates who died in custody of covid related illnesses actually filed a motion for compassionate relief, raising questions about the efficiency and efficacy of the process. one is left to wonder how justice was served by the process with 62 inmates filed for compassionate relief themselves through counsel and those pre-existing

pre-existing medical conditions cited by the bureau after theyst died of covid related illness while in custody. why couldn't there be a response? the bureau and only. grapples with inmate infections and deaths but also with staff member infections and death. the last two weeks the number of covid-19 has range from 900 to almost 2007 have died of covid related illness. staffing shortage have long been a problem has made a bad situation even worse. statistics didas not bode well for the state of operations per bureau for sellers across the country. staff norms become infected are required to quarantine due to exposure covid-19 directly affects the remaining staff at the facility to provide safety, security, and covid related medical service and cynicism within inmates. take this moment as i conclude my remarks to be able to give appreciation to

the corrections officers and staff that operate with compassion, hopefully sensitivity and they worked every single day. ninety-eight facilities are meant level three of the operation levels which improve social distancing in all areas of the facility. but as of monday all federal prisons on a national lockdown two inmates died during a fight and believing multiple inmates. including those in gangs brother details are not forthcoming due to the ongoing fbi investigation this raises concern about the safety and security of the facility, particular in my backyard beaumont which is been compromised by long-standing staffing shortages. the consequences of staffing shortages time and time again epstein was linked in part to the hours ofnv overtime officers guarding him are required to work and required an employee who is not a corrections officer to guard him. i went to that facility, saw the need, freezing, cold and

needs of those employees that were there they begged for help and did not get it. that precipitate the closing of the metropolitan corrections internment as well as worked very hard on this issue. and so i hope as we go forward we will listen to the issues, we know some issues are being investigated by the oig. we understand the conditions in these prisons are not what they should be. we know the risk assessment which is the core of the implementation of the first step act and other programs have not been effectively utilized for b hope to answer that question on the program that indicates the national institute of justice identifies areas that ibe understand are being addressed to advise the pattern if inmates are assessed under the current version for disadvantage they must be reassessed under the new

version. prison is a place of accountability and punishment. but it should also be a place of redemption, restoration, service and certainly a place for staff to work out. so i report to this discussion with our director and i look forward to continuing to try to restore the federal prison bureau and theti way it should perform. without objection all submitted to the record the following document testimonies submitted for the gentry subcommittee hearing entitled the first step act pandemic and compassionate relief. where the next steps in the prison. a letter from allison k gertie dated february 1, 2022 in a company attachment written statement submitted the generate 21st, 2020 to subcommittee the first step pandemic compassionate relief on the next step for the prisons.

i now recognize the distinguished member from arizona in the ranking member for his opening statement, thank you and welcome. >> thank you madam chair. i first thank you, madam chair for holding this and for bringing in the director of prisons because i think that your swift response to many of us who requested presence be here i appreciate your response to that madam chair. we are grateful for that. i welcome director as well. thank you for your service. we are glad to have you here today. the federal bureau of prisons is tasked with protecting society by confining two controlled environments of prisons and community based facilities gop's duty is not merely to provide housing, food, and security for federal inmates but also to help inmates become law-abiding citizens upon release. all americans have an interest

in gop's mission because the vast majority of federal inmates, well above 90% will someday be released into our communities regardless of our efforts to reduce recidivism. gop's job is not an easy task. it's only become more complicated due to covid-19. the response aer covenant teen took a number of steps to safeguard the health, safety of inmates through prison staff. the prioritized inmates from home confinement who did not pose a significant risk to the public. restrict the number of visitors among detention facilities. these are reasonable measures to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to go even further. they've tried to use covid-19 as a reason to look more convicted criminals back onto our streets. even wrote the interning general urging him to quote use every tool at his disposal to be released as many prisoners as possible". they even passed legislation in theav house to pace dates to

releasele inmates in local jails. think about that. my colleagues across the aisle want to use our tax dollars to incentivize states to put more criminals on the streets earlier. the consequence of these actions have deadly results which we have unfortunately seen in march of 2021, eric was released from the gop custody after being granted compassionate release based on covid vulnerability. just four months later my butt was accused in charge of murdering his wife. and just a few weeks ago in oregon, was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree theft and felony fleeing and unlawful use of a weapon. granted compassionate release the previous year. despite these numerous times that have been committed by inmates my colleagues across the aisle are asking for more

to be released regardless of their crime or prison sentence for it other committee members which open the jails they are turning public health crisis into public safety crisis as well. i tellpr you, director please pass on our appreciation to yourur officers and employees for they have a tough job. i want them to note they have our support. too that end i understand many gop officers voice over the vaccine mandate. i strongly oppose efforts to mandate covid-19 vaccines and introduce legislation to prevent for having vaccine mandates. i also request that madam chair we soon had the d.c. director of the u.s. marshals office in for hearing as well. i think some of the evidence that came out would do well for both sides of the aisle to

hear. i appreciate you bringing in directors good to have them here pretty thank you madam chair and i yield back the balance of my time. >> i think the ranking member for his statements. i acknowledge that this time the service of our chairman and service art ranking member mr. jordan. thank you for their leadership of this committee. it is now my pleasure to introduce today's witness or witness. that is michael, who is the director of the federal bureau of prisons began his career with the bureau prisons in 1992 as a correctional officer as a federal correctional institute three rivers. he is in essence a committed, dedicated servant to the federal bureau of prisons. he served in position of leadership and texas, kansas, louisiana before becoming a regional director of northeast

region in 2016. he became the assistant director for the correctional program division in 2018 and held that position until he was appointed director in 2020 in the last administration. : : : program division in 20 and held that position until he was appointed a director in 2020. let me again take note of his service and as well the many corrections officers that i have had the privilege of meeting throughout the system. our task here is to provide a reform and restora to turn on your audio and make sure i can see your face and raise your right hand while i administer y the oath. do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that the

testimony you are about to give udis true and correct to the bet of your knowledge, information and belief, so help you god? >> yes. >> let the record to show the witness answered in the affirmative. t thank you. please note your written statementses will be entered ino the record in its entirety and accordingly i ask that you your testimony in five minutes. to help you stay within this timeframe there is a timing light on your screen when the light switches from green to yellow, you have one minute to conclude your testimony. when the light turns red signals that your five minutes has expired. i now recognize the director for five minutes. thank you. you are recognized. >> on behalf of the corrections professionals who work a day in and day out to supper the

critical law enforcement mission the bureau's work is incredibly challenging and has been exacerbated. our management of the pandemic has been highly scrutinized despite the fact we have worked in lockstep shaping the guidance for the benefit of everyone that works in the environment. the bureau is one of the first to offer testing and vaccination and recognized the bureau for eleading [inaudible] we continue to increase those rates. after issuance of the act transferring vulnerable eligible inmates to residential centers. the bureau has transferred 37,000 inmates for potential placement and home confinement

based on the law enforcement mission. another criticism is we are understaffed and misrepresented without reference to the factual data. we have 1100 however seven institutions out of 121 make up 40% and increasing anduniv maintaining with an appropriated funding level remains our priority. last calendar year year we had over 3,000 staff and at one point hired 1,000 staff. we've proven we can hire employees and even though it's not an issue at the majority of the location, we are routinely by competing, state and law enforcement agencies to pay a higher wage. accordingly we continue to work with of the department to consider the use of additional so that we may be more competitive. another area of misguided criticism is the implementation of the actou of the bureau workd with of the department on the

development and the risk and support of the institute to develop and the new pattern toolshe we worked to negotiate policies and implementation of the law. the consensus of 150,000 inmates to ensure they received. the mental health issues or other special needs. we've expanded programs and vocational training with 70,000 ndinmates participating in first step act programs by the end of 2021 and the constraints caused. we are modernizing the education platform to include the use of tablets for better program and we've created an online system

to connect with volunteers at the facilities. additionally we are exploring waysy to provide inmates with id cards under the real id act. we engaged with experts to evaluate the programs and we are working to review and a stronger data platform to enhance the monitoring evaluation. in concert with the department regardingg the credit we applied the rule retroactively and immediately released 4,000 inmates. we are releasing approximately 1600 and transferring 2500. in some over 8,000 inmates have had their time supplied towards the supervised release. the bureau support has always been committed to the

implementation of the first step act and we are compliant. last year the governmental accountability office reported highlighted areas where the bureau needed to improve and in response established a task force to address these areas. as a result of the work, the priority recommendations identified are now closed. our work in this area continues. other members of the committee, this concludes my statement. >> madam chair, i think you are still on mute.

>> i'm going to yield to you at this time and follow. the first step act and the covid epidemic i was glad to hear from several experts on the topic that i'm afraid i'm left with a few questions i believe you might be the one to answer on the particular specific situations. one of the ways it attempted to

address the epidemic in the system was by providing additional authority to grant compassionate release for incarcerated persons who met a number of criteria to demonstrate a low risk every offense as opposed to the way it was described a few minutes ago with democrats asking for the prison doors to be opened up indiscriminately. can you tell us how many people have been granted early relief under this program? and i wanted to know for those people that were granted, how many reoffend? i know if there's been individual cases but i want to know if you have any numbers overall or percentages of how many people were in violation missing a curfew or phone call and how many people were released and were unaccounted for, how many people offended again with violent crime?

>> thank you, congresswoman, and i appreciate the opportunity to make thee distinctions here. i think that there is confusion so i'm going to try to clarify as i stated in my remarks we really stand transferred 37,000 under the act and compassionate release as a separate entity. under the statute and current policy we make a recommendation to support the court makes the final decision, the bureau of prison doesn't take a position on the motion itself and as you stated we use the policy criteria to evaluate and ensure that each individual case is as compelling and circumstances that they are fully considered. these are individualized cases and we take into account public safety and victim impact but i

stressss we do not do that and e court makes the final decision. we did not track data i don't have it in front of me for compassionate release because when an inmate receives a sentence of reduction they are no longer in our custody. i can answer the other part of the 37,000 that we transferred on confinement in the community with 90,000 of the specifics to the cares act, 320 approximately 320 that i am aware of committed violations that have been brought back to secure custody. eight of those were new crimes that i'm aware of and one was a serious crime i don't have the details in front of you but i'm sure we can get them for you. >> so use it to 320, could you repeat that again? >> 320 of the inmates under the cares act home confinement. >> so you don't know how many were technical violations?

could i assume the rest were technical or not? >> i can clarify that. i appreciate that. the most common is about 160 of the 320 were for abuse of alcohol or drugs. some of them were not where they were supposed to be, some were violations of that nature. eight of them were new crimes committed and the rest were technical violations. the vaccine distribution, one among staff. >> we have approximately 80% of our staff which is about 30,000 staff that are fully vaccinated and we have about 95,000 inmates, 93 to 95 with moving targets that change constantly so that's about 70% of the population. of course people can change their mind at any point if they

choose to come back and we will make the vaccine available. >> for the 20% of the staff that are not vaccinated, but protocols do you have in place, do they have to get tested weekly or what is in place? >> prior to the mandate we were offering weekly testing, volunteering obviously when the mandate came out, we mandated the testing for unvaccinated. there was aou preliminary injunction issued in january by a judge and we are observing that and see support for the vaccine mandate and all processes with it but we continue to encourage that and they become vaccinated and that is a moving target but we average about 80%. >> thank you. my time is expired. >> it is my pleasure to yield to you your five minutes for your questioning of the director.

thank you very much. >> thank you, madam chair. thanks for being here today. p.the federal court issued that for the vaccine mandate for federal employees or any employee is fired for not receiving the vaccine prior to the injunction being issued? >> congressman, i don't have the exact numbers off the top of my head. i can certainly follow up and get that information to you. >> are you saying you believe some were fired but you don't have the exact number? >> i do believe somewhere, but i do not have that information in front of me and i can certainly get back to you. >> do you know if those employees will be rehired? >> i will consult with my directors. there's processes we are observing and we can get back to you with that exact information. >> thank you very much. other federal agencies are creating databases to request

religious exemption. the vaccine mandate and federal employees have they created a database? >> with the mandate we were exploring it and reviewing and improving as necessary religious and medical exemptions. we have seized that process because of the preliminary injunction and we are following the guidance given to us. i just want to make sure i understand this. so you work on the database and you are not now? that's what i understood. >> yes we track it. we have a process to keep track of the information, so yes there is a database along with everything else we do it's tracked for accountability purposes so we know what the status is and things of that nature. we have since seized enforcement of that. >> i appreciate the line of questioning because i have a lot of similar type of questions.

in my opening statement i mentioned a couple examples because of covid 19. are they tracking rates to see if individuals who have been released because of covid 19 crimes after the release? >> congressman, the recidivism data, the rate is 43%. the states actually owned the recidivism data. we work with them and i don't know if enough time has elapsed the carespassing of act but i would have to ask specific questions about that. but again there is a difference between someone we release in tracking them and someone who's still in our custody. >> so, i understand the court makes the final determination on a compassionate release

petition. are you tracking those that have been released on compassionate release at all with recidivism rates? >> congressman, i don't want to misspeak again when we release someone from our custody the bureau doesn't track them, they are released from custody and our returning citizens. the state again owns the recidivism data and we've worked with them and other entities. i can have my staff get back with you. i honestly don't know the exact procedures that we can get that information for you. >> i appreciate that and i wish you would reach out to my staff. in particular for instance i want to make sure i understand in arizona if someone is given compassionate release, the arizona law enforcement department of public safety, someone is tracking it and gives you data, is that your

understanding? >> yes, it is a collaboration of us n working for the state and other law enforcement entities. there's a lot of moving parts that's way above my head but yes the data is obviously being tracked. >> i guess i've been asking that. i assume the first step act the same thing on the recidivism issue. >> in the first step act data we are working with outside consultants to review data and things like that. we are working on a platform. i know one of the criticisms early on we had a lot of moving parts and there is a lot of entities here we have to collaborate with other local state and federal law enforcement agencies to do that. >> director, i hope that we can get that information sooner rather than later and whatever we can do to help facilitate that, please let me know and iwe will have my office reach out and you can have your office reach out to mine.

this information is critical because everybody wants to understand that. thanks again for being here. anmy time is expired and i will yield back. >> i would thank the chair man, the ranking member very much and i will now yield myself testimony for five minutes. my time is short. thank you so very much, i appreciate your respect on that. in the penitentiary in texas on monday, all facilities that had locked down, can you explain the decision to institute the lockdown, the national lockdown and how long inmates are confined to their cells during a 24 hour period? if you can give a brief answer on that, we will take a longer a one in writing. director? >> yes, congresswoman. the decision to lock down the entire agency is a serious one. we did it because we felt we needed to to find out what's going on. i won't get into the specific

operations but the groups involved are spread throughout the agency and we need to make sure that we separated them and secure them hoping the lockdown will be short-lived.. we do not like keeping inmates in their cells and we will do our best to get them out as quickly that keeping safety with everyone in mind. >> thank you. if you would give the committee and update on the moment of the lockdown stops, we would appreciate it for all the members.s. following up, in texas, a security facility has ten infected inmates, 942 recovered from covid. that seems high out of 1,974 total inmates including the camp and correctional institution, which includes low offense individuals. that's almost half of the inmate population that's been infected with. covid-19. twenty staff are positive right now and how many inmates were placed into home confinement and how many were released under the

compassionate release? are older inmates in those facilities given priority to be nyassessed for release under the compassionate release or forced to step act and if so, what age is given priority if not by age are any ann inmates close and if you can answer the last question first, please. >> yes, congresswoman. i don't have the exact data for the specific institution. we can certainly get you that data. we don't have that. >> is that ongoing to be utilized today since it is still operable in the law? >> absolutely. we continue to scream inmates for appropriate placement under the cares act. >> and under the act with your discretion, individuals do not have to meet the 50% time of

their sentence, is that correct? >> thaty. is one of the criteria along with others. there's four hard criteria. >> but it's correct they do not have to meet the incarceration rate of the sentence? >> in instances like that, we do have the discretion there is a higher level review and if the staff feel it is appropriate outside of the cares act, we have procedures in place for cases such asce that. >> mr. manafort and mr. cohen, to your knowledge, not 50% of the sentence is that correct? >> i'm not going to talk about individual specific cases, congresswoman. but we have procedures in place and a a committee that reviews them and i can certainly go through that process if you like. >> i would appreciate if you could provide in writing if you're not going to discuss it on the individuals release under the 50% rule. let me ask what are you doing to prevent more deaths in the facilities?

>> congresswoman, we've been in lockstep with the cdc and other entities from day number one and we are doing the same thing everyone in the country into the world is doing, learning how to mitigate this virus as stated earlier that it's hard to social distance inside of a prison. that's why we appreciate the ability under the cares act to transfer people out because we were able to lower the population with security facilities and the one you described. we are following cdc guidance and we do everything in collaboration with them and the pandemic plan actually assisted in writing the correctional guidance for thehe pandemic. >> thank you, director and i will get the rest in writing. are you aware of the racially disparate impact of the pattern risk assessment tool inmates of color may be more likely than white and with this in mind have you considered revising the threshold categories that would enable more individuals to earn

credits with early release and maximize the benefits of the first step act and take away the racial disparity that we see very clearly? >> director? >> congresswoman, i want to express one thing. the pattern toolt did not develop, it was by an ij and approved by the attorney general. we are aware of changes. we've appropriately made those adjustments and we work with the department to do that. we are the end user of that tool. we did not create it. >> finally, do you think it would help inmates on the compassionate release if they filed the motion rather than man-made? >> congresswoman, as i stated earlier, wer don't have the authority to independently release someone. we work with the department of justice and make recommendations to the court. the judiciary makes the final decision and we do make the staff available to gather documents and we worked with of the attorneys and the public defenders and of the courts to ensure all the documents are available so we can -- it isn't

a quick process that. that's what people need to understand. compassionate release process is difficult and has to be done individually. each individual case has to be fully considered under its unique circumstances. it's not a fast process. >> my time is expired. thank you. we will pursue that with you. i yield five minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. shabbat's. >> i want to thank you for being here with of the committee today. before coming to congress, over a quarter-century ago now, i served as a local elected official on the cincinnati city council and on the county commission, hamilton county ohio and in those two capacities, i was a very involved with our incarceration at the local level, things like double selling inmates to help with the overcrowding situation that we had and then work release programs where we got inmates out, cutting down weeds,

two-for-one type programs and those type of things. so, when i got here to congress and then to the judiciary committee, i wanted to continue in that effort and one of the closest things most prison industries that ios want to discuss your in a second but i also got involved and worked with, for example, former representative rob portman who is now the united states senator and was one of the principal moving forces for the second chance act which we work with him on and then the first step act which we passed some time ago and i worked with adam schiff in a bipartisan manner of the justice reinvestment initiative to make sure that members we sent out letters over the yearsse urging members to support funding for that particular program. so, before i ask about the prison industries i want is a

most of the inmates we have at the federal level, this is certainly the case of the local level as well. these inmates, whereas for the most part do need to be removed from society as they've committed a crime, but the fact is the vast majority of the folks are going h to be out on e streets someday so as a society we are better off if we recognize that and if possible, reform some of them and give them job skills that they can actually work in the private sector someday to keep them from coming back. it doesn't work perfectly, but ittt can work and i strongly support those and will continue to do that. back to back to the industries which then transformed. this is the program that we have where the prisoners at the federal level actually are in work programs learning a skill that they will hopefully be able to carry over to the private sector and what should help the

recidivism rates, which means people don't come back toie prin and at the recidivism rates are too high. as we know people do tend to come back but this is one where over timear they tend to be betr when you give people a skill. and often times we might think of a stereotype of people making license plates or something but it could be furniture, it could be a whole range of things. i would just like to give you a little time here if you could to tell us how that program is going, what your experience has been, how it has it affected the recidivism rate, is it a positive thing, those types of things mr. director. >> thank you, congressman. absolutely it's a benefit to the agency established by congress in 1934. the sole mission is to train and employ inmates for exactly what you said. it givesis them a skill to retun back to society. about the last recidivism review

that is couple of-years-old 24% work for the federal industries were less likely to recidivate. 16% were more likely to be gainfully employed upon release, so it is a good program. we like to say it is one of our number one if not the number one evidence-based program because it teaches the skills you spoke of. you're correct [inaudible] it's important to do that we have a board of directors that take the responsibility very seriously and they minimize the impact to any given industry. certainly we do that in the hearings and things of that nature for those that think that we are taking from local industry there's procedures in place to comply with that. >> thank you very much. i don't have a lot of time left so d one other thing. it's one of the greatest challenges you have when inmates are there that they are criminals, so they got there because they committed a crime

and they can pray on each other or they can make it a very verydangerous for the guard, soa like the industry is that a mechanism for a tool for maintaining kind of good behavior and making sure that it is a less dangerous environment exam it otherwise might be? >> absolutely, congressman. one of the biggest things that we battle his idle minds. so anything we can do to keep people productive learning a trade or skill is our goal. >> thank you very much and i think my time is expired, so i will yield back. >> let me for a moment thank the members that are here today. i want to acknowledge congressman lou, congressman cohen, congressman big, congressman stu b, congress woman [inaudible]

fitzgerald, thank you for your presence here today. my pleasure now to yield five minutes to the gentle lady from florida you are now recognized. thank you so very much for your service. >> good morning and thank you, madam chairwoman. thank you for the exceptional work that you are doing on this particular area. i want to make it clear that we all understand we also understand many of them will integrate back into society and it is incumbent upon us to make sure thatit they have the training, tools that they need to be successful. we all understand that. director, you spoke a little bit about unicorp and how successful

it has been. could you talk a little bit more about that program and how we could even improve upon the success and how congress can be a better partner helping those that will be coming back into society? >> i appreciate that, congresswoman. i think speaking about it and being able to support the program in itself often times we are criticized that we are taking jobs from the local communities and as stated earlier we have a board of directorses who oversees. it's a great program and the more we can keep inmates teaching them the trades. the other thing we are teaching them the soft skills of free entry. some of these folks have never had an actual job and punch the clock soac to speak. they are also earning a decent living for being incarcerated. part of that is paying for

financial responsibility. a lot of them are able to help support their families. again, teaching that soft skill which is 50% of the mission of reentry. i have to stress we want the same thing, we want people to go back to society as productive members of society, and we are committed to doing that. themm mission is keeping people safe and secure, the other half, which we are equally committed to, is making sure they get the skills to go back and be productive members in the community. >> thank you for that. you also talk about in your opening statement to some of the challenges that you have in terms of meeting staffing requirements, that you are being outbid by other state and local organizations or agencies. i'm certainly sensitive to that. could you talk a little bit more about increased salaries is probably the answer, but could you talk about some of the other maybe creative ways that you are looking to not only recruit but

also retain them? >> very much a priority for us and always has been. yi stated earlier there is a narrative out there that we can't hire. we've proved we can hire. we have some that are difficult to staff in those spaces you stated we have a hard time competing with local industries or other correctional agencies. we don't set the pay advance for that. we are working with ofha the department and we use recruitment and retention incentives and we use relocation incentives. all of those are things we work with to get approval from the department and support to be able to look at these areas. some of the hardest to stuff places as the congresswoman stated earlier it's hard to compete with local industries when frankly they can get paid more working down the street and

that is one of the challenges. it's a great facility i spent 40 years of my career there so it's not the facility. it's us being able to compete with of the location. >> and director, finally i remember hearing some concerns about were centered around officer safety because of staffing shortages where personnel that were not necessarilyar trained as correctional officers if you will were being utilized in that capacity. could you talk about a bit more about that? >> yes, congresswoman. i appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. we wouldn't -- we are very fortunate as a correctional agency one of the things we pride ourselves on and all of our staff are correctional trained workers that have received the same training regardless of where they were, so we have uniform staff that are correctional officers and

the nurses, the teachers, everyone goese through the exact same training. that gives us the ability to utilize the staff faithfully. so that narrative is inaccurate when you hear it. we are challenged with staffing and i will tell you that we are funded at 90%. during my tour as director, the priority we have funded all of the physicians that we get money for -- positions we get money for. int hired a thousand over. we are able to do that because the human resources. we try to get ahead of it. it's a constant challenge. there's a lot of moving parts it's a large organization. 38,000 staff, a lot of people to keep track of. >> thank you so much, director. i'm out of time and i will yield back. thank you. >> the gentle lady yields back. -lher time is expired. thank you. it's my pleasure to yield five minutes now to congressman stu b. >> thank you, madam chair.

director, thanks for being here. obviously the committee has a lot of questions, and we appreciate your attendance. july 1st of last year i wrote a letter to both you and the wdirector of the dc departmentf corrections about the treatment of the january 6th suspects. your office responded on july 201st. the dc department of corrections correctionshas so far refused td almost after the fact that i sent a letter. director, i recognize many of the most egregious examples of mistreatment of january 6th inmates happened not in your system, but in the dc jail. it has been reported that a january 6th inmates in the dc jail who are not vaccinated for covid-19 are forced into solitary confinement for 14 days after meeting with their attorney. yes or no, does the same policy work in your facilities? >> no, congressman, we do not. >> while, i'm glad to hear that and if it also highlights the

step in the policies of the dc jail regarding january 6 inmates. it's also been reported that january 6 inmates in the dc jail have not been allowed haircuts or to attend religious services unless they are vaccinated for covid-19. yes or no, do you have the same policy? >> no, congressman. we treat all the people in our custody, everybody has equal access and is treated with dignity and has access to everything equallyal regardless- >> thank you for your response. it further shows how egregious the jails mistreatment of january 6 inmatese goes. it's furtherer been reported january 6 inmates in the jails s have been denied medical treatment, and this was largely the basis for a federal judge finding the world and in contempt. in your experience as a career in law enforcement officer and prison official, is this acceptable conduct by the correctional institution to deny

medical treatment? >> congressman, i am not going to comment on what another correctional agency does without knowing all the information. i woulddhe stress to you -- >> i'm highlighting the q difference is how you run your agency and how they are running theirs. additionally i would asksk for n update on the statistics were of inmates in custody that are awaiting trial and the number of such inmates that are in special housing units. second, the number of january 6

inmatesth serving sentences and the number of such inmates who are in special housing units. i would ask your commitment today tots get me those respons. >> yes, congressman. i canet get you those responses. we have 19 in our custody. eight are pretrial and as to the specific housing to date, i don't want to misspeak but i will follow-up witht that information with your staff. >> i would appreciate that. you said in 19 in custody and how many pretrial? >> 19 in custody, eight are pretrial. i don't know their exact status and i don't want to misspeak. >> if you could provide the details of that not just to me but the members of this committee i'm sure would also be interested on that information. i've got a little bit of time left, so one more question. your office response to my letter was noted judges, quote, routinely make recommendations to the bureau regarding placement of an inmate. at a a specific institution or enrollment programs, and you also noted your offices require

a good-faith effort to follow these judicial recommendations. i would point out such judicial recommendations are often very much at the discretion of the judge and while i have faith in the judiciary to call off the strikes on o the legal matters n discretionary issues such as this, it is obvious it's possible for the diocese to come into play soom my question if te judge makes a recommendation on the terms of the january 6 inmates custody and the recommendation was influenced by the judge's political leanings, they would become followed by policy to make a good-faith effort to follow the recommendation, is that correct? >> congressman, recommendations that are made by the judiciary we certainly respect them and work with them, but there's a lot of moving parts in the agency. we make the final determination and it's simply not a recommendation. we ultimately make the decisions based on the best place to keep people safe and secure.

>> thank you madam chair. my time is expired. >> thank you and it is my pleasure to now yield five minutes to the gentle lady from pennsylvania, congresswoman dean. >> i thank you, madam chair, for hosting this important hearing and director for your work. >> for the treatment and vocational training and life skills i also hope they are expanding substance use disorder treatment recovery. helping to break the cycle of recidivism and reincarceration which is why i reintroduced

elijah cummings. legislation that would ensure that incarcerated individuals receive educational opportunities they need and after completing the sentences. could you give us an information on the number of people today and rolled in your system and educational opportunity? >> the current information one of the 80 we were hindered and how to slow things down. we've done a lotot of work with expanding programs and have dedicated staff to make sure

that we process that population and we work with the department of labor for apprenticeship programs because we know the vocational trades. what percentage are enrolled in educational p programs? >> i don't have the exact numbers but i will certainly follow up and i'm sure we can get you that information. >> if you could share that with of theha committee that would be great. what programs are in place regarding substance abuse disorder and what percentage of struggle with mental health reduction and how many are being offered treatment? >> we have many drug abuse programs available that targets

people with opioid use disorder and currently work on expanding those treatments. i don't know the exact percentage. it is a high amount that come into the system to understand if the treatment is universally throughoutiv the system we know that there is a high correlation. onto the solitary confinement in a few minutes, we read from inmates on the dangers of solitary confinement and the damage contrary to the questions

i just asked you. it was estimated that 60,000 to 80,000 were confined, i hope on the recognition that it is a [inaudible]] >> on the administrative preferences there were in the disciplinary action we try to use the alternative sanctions ando limit the time.

we've expanded what we call the reintegration housing unit program to spend time and restrictive housing in the general population type atmosphere, a general population to remove them from the restricted housing so that is something that we monitor daily and we are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the programming and we ensure if we make the rounds daily there's constant inmate contact. >> oui look forward to the information coming before the committee and yelled back. first of all, director, can those that were fireddi as a

result of not taking the vaccine, can they get their jobs back? >> congressman, we have a process for all that and i'm certain that we will follow that and the appropriate due process following the guidance and regulation and all of the rules of thele law. >> is prison ministry allowed in the bureau of prisons? >> yes. >> have they been during covid? >> we had to restrict through the operations people coming in for their safety and for hours. we don't want to introduce it in the environment, so it's been restricted about we work on that and have a matrix operational if the institution follows that criteria, they can make those adjustments daily. so it is a pretty given place. i can't answer that did a bit i could certainly get you the information if you are

interested. >> with the explosion in crime have you seen an increase in the inmate population in the bureau of prisons? >> our population has decreased over the last several years. >> is part of that as a result of the covid release that you've done i think you've detailed those numbers earlier. >> yes, congressman it is and keep in mind we are on the backend of the criminal justice system, so it takes time to go through the system so i would defer some of that information probably to the doj. we get them at the back end of it. >> thank you very much. whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated, you can still contract covid-19. why are we still releasing inmates? >> congressman, if i understand

your question correctly, under the cares act, is that the question, why we are releasing under the cares act? >> yes. because it is a statute we are following the guidance we were given so we follow the law, congressman. >> do you think we should rethink that as a congress for that we can change the policy? >> i would defer to you and members of congress. >> we had a facility in texas. prior to the stabbing incident, if these two people would have had covid, is it possible they could have asked for release under the law? >> i want to make sure i paint the rightur picture. we are going to review everybody by the criteria but the number

and the fact these individuals were members of the security threat group and high-security, the chances of them being released were probably very slim because one of the criteria is you cannot have a crime of violence and it appears that these individuals were involved in violence. precisely why prisons exist. there are a small fraction of peoplel that are going to continue their criminal activity. >> so, it's not completely ruled out that they could have gotten release. >> congressman, that's why we have the criteria and we utilize the discretion and judgment and follow that statute. >> they are keeping large sums of money as much as 100,000 in the government run effectively shielded from court orders including people like larry nassar, the boston bomber. what specific plans does the

bureau have in place to ensure the victims get what they are owed? >> good question. first off, i want to stress something that currently they do not have the authority to seize funds from an inmate without their consent. we are working with of the department of justice to change that rule that will allow us automatically a portion of the funds recovered to pay the fines and restitution. our inmate trust fund collects about 6 million annually to make sure they pay restitution's but i stress again we do not have the authority to retrieve the funds. we work with other law enforcement communities and the united states attorney's office looks forward to those matters when we have to do that. >> i think that is something that should really be looked at. the other thing i would urge, madam chair, we have hearing after hearing on the question and i am so glad the irepresentative of pennsylvania was concerned about to the solitary confinement. we need to have a hearing on these detainees. we need to have a full hearing

of what is going on with of those january 6th detainees because they are being submitted to conditions that many on the committee including the other side of the aisle find reprehensible. it's time to haveve a hearing on january 6th detainees. i will yelled back. >> the gentleman's time is expired, and i'm pleased to yield to the gentle lady fromm pennsylvania. you are recognized now for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. appreciate you having the hearing and thank you for being with us. on the baseline population we were talking about here the inmate population for the bureau of prisons from 1940 to 1980 was around 24,000. is that right? >> yes, ma'am. if memoryy serves me correctly, yes, i don't have that

information. >> i'm actually pulling it off your website here. so then the population doubled in the 80s to about 58,000, doubled again in the '90s to 136,000 and continues to climb until 2013 and was about 217,000 people is that right? what is the current census in the bureau of prisons? >> i'm not sure i understand the question. >> are you housing about 153,000? >> yes, i'm sorry i didn't hear you.

>> i think everyone on the committee knows by the time we got to 2013 or so we had widespread agreement everyone from the coke brothers to the obama justice department is sayg we are over incarcerated in this country there's been emphasis on the purpose of the bureau but also a rehabilitative purpose. >> i would like to stress something we are not here for punishment.im we are here to house people and more importantly prepare society and keep them safe while they are here. we don't look at this as

punishment. to make sure they are not worse off before the end they were when they came in because that doesn't says serve society well either. what is the current recidivism rate to the federal prison? >> about 43%. >> with respect to the educational programs, i recently had a constituent reach out about participation in the

rehabilitation program and are they getting their credits toward release because they have to get the credit and go to court and that isn't a particularly cost-effective method for anyone. i know it was paused at many facilities. is it back up and running in all facilities where it was previously offered? >> we have operational affected by it and certain inmates have been infected. we expect the staff to work with them and i'm not familiar with ofof the particular case but we could certainly get back to the specifics of that case.

we go to the point of trying to work with him so they can benefit from the program and at the goal was to get the time credit. if they have any time credits we want to get them back into the society isis appropriate. >> one last question. i'm running out of time. i was interested in the effort to put more apprenticeship programs. what is the trajectory and what esefforts are being made to expd that? we can get back to you with that specific information. we are working with of the department to grow that program. >> appreciate it and yelled back..

>> it's my privilege to yield five minutes to the gentleman. >> i want to thank you, director, for your staff being responsive to one of my inquiries. it looks like as of january 20th, there were 4,738 exemptions. most of them were religious exemptions. instead of asking i want to inform you that this has had a very negative effect on the morale of the officers the inmates have more rights than the officers themselves and reasoned that they've had to apply for religious exemptions when in fact they should have been granted a medical exemption of some of them have been able to get the exemption and you may want to check in on whether it's

completely suspended the mandate because there are officers still s required if they are not vaccinated per the mandate and also to certify they have a religious exemption even as of this week they've had to do that. but i appreciate the accommodations that you've made because it will negatively affect the morale and recruiting if we do keep the vaccine mandate in place. i want to ask about how many correctional officersow were budgeted by congress. i will give you my number. the number i have i'm just trying to see if it is correct it is 20,446. >> yes, congressman. ..

>> i am concerned the inmates are going up in the officers

are going down i would like for it to be a safe environment but it is not safe they are utilizing the overtime virtually every day and had more slots field so they heard augmentation is being used back for some of those slots and i will not debate whether they are trained enough you have address that already i am sure they are but what is augmentation where to those people come from? >> . >> augmentation is a necessary tool we use their agency to make sure we complete the first part of our mission

first to keep everyone safe and secure iner order to do the second part which is giving people and then such as teachers and wings of that nature and how those decisions are based upon ourhe roster locally. we have approximately 1100 correctional officers i would like to stress that we are funding at 90 percent we have 30000 positions we funded for about 3723 vacancies $500 million we are short we got as high as 94 percent is currently 92 percent so our goal is to filld every single position but i can't spend money we don't have. >> specifically so when you

take people away than the teaching doesn't happen then we see highervi recidivism because we know vocational schools and education correlate to recidivism. so i would hope you can get those slots filled and rely lessre on overtime and pulling those teachers away who is so important thank you for indulging me and i yield back. >> . >> and at the national prayer breakfast from georgia your recognized for five minutes. >> thank you chairwoman. goodir afternoon. thank you for being here today i thank you for your service

and with the subcommittee last hearing we had an opportunity to review implementation of the first step act and the impact covid-19 has had on the operation. i use that opportunity to inquire at that time the policies a direct treatment and care of pregnant women specifically alignment with national guidance with the health and safety of pregnant women. was pleased to hear the dot has taken action to betters align policies from five out of eight care topics that cannot fully be alignedt with the national guidance recommendation. i hope the bureau would continue to work to ensure that all eight are met so theha health and well-being of pregnant women at the dot facilities is fully protected.

spent the successful reentry of citizens to recidivism efforts and crime in our communities and the financial help of these defenders rejoiningth society. but it's difficult to assess recidivism patterns to collect the data. the last detected publication over recidivism of what i was able to locate was published june 2016 and the latest publication to release federal offenders published last december covering federal inmates released back in 2010. so that recidivism is from

2006. >> and then to improve data collection to track the progress of incarcerated individuals as they i transition and does the gop have plans to havend standard metrics to evaluate reentry outcome such as job placement and recidivism so they can share titheir best practices. >> i appreciate your interest in this test. test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and our staff are working with other components to set up a platform to working on bettering that platform to get that data. >> so my staff would have with

that would look like and what it entails. >> yeses we can do that, congresswoman. and with those coordinators the board of prison has per prisoner? and with those number of vacancies thatt you have and what step the board of prisons take to fill these positions? >> congresswoman, we are committed to filling all of our vacancies. we strive to do that. i don't know the exact number of reentry but those are petitions we strive to fill as we do all positions and as stateds, earlier, we fill every position we have funding for and are committed to do that. i can give you the exact numbers but i don't have them in front of me.

>> i appreciate that effort we would be interested to have that information and i appreciate that. as has been stated, we are very concerned that people say criminals have rights. they do just as victims have rights and we want to make sure that those that are incarcerated do have the ability to have fair treatment while they are incarcerated. because at the end of day they are human beings. i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you it is my privilege to yield five minutes to a gentleman mr. fitzgerald. you are recognized for five

minutes. >> thank you madame chair. on the other side of the aisle piece of legislation eliminating bail to utilize bail for pretrial release and eligible for grants under thera memorial justice assistant grant program. reforms continue to be pushed with the tragic events where violent criminals are released on bond or when they are involved in the terrible crimes that my colleagues have been talking about this morning. california maryland new jersey, new york and in my own district which i represent has

modified their bail practices to eliminate or deemphasize the use of monetaryr assistanc. coupled with some of my colleagues those for the bill reform efforts and it is troubling making the communities less safe sending the wrong signal or message for some of these that commit the crime. additionally it provides grants with the money bail system. and the minnesota freedom fund that vice president harris was involved in four period of w time.

and the others that are similar that have contributed to the similar concern. and then in the fifth congressional district in wisconsin. you have the national attentionnt given to the waukesha christmas parade murders and those that were released on a 1000-dollar bond after running over a woman with a vehicle and then released on bail despite having ellen lengthy criminal history including a charge for aggravated battery and an outstanding warrant in nevada. and for a sex-relatedede. crime. then as you know he subsequently drove his car through the parade killing six individuals one was an eight -year-old boy. bail reform policies such as cashless bail have been supported by some of my

colleagues and actually do more harm than help and what i would consider the minority communities that could have benefited. so crimes that are considered felonies treated as misdemeanors or civil infractions. and in controlling the criminal and the justice system from a perspective that the benefit goes what is the fallout? under the first step to create rules around evidence-based recidivism and productive

activity. there has to be a relationship between those incarcerated can you comment? there has to be a relationship between those incarcerated and the set of statutes at the state and federal level and how they affect that. what's the interaction during your period of time as director? >> congressman, i'm not sure i understand your question. you know, we're committed to reentry. that's 50% part of our mission. the other is keeping people safe and control. the court determines. when they come in, our mission is to keep everyone safe and secure and ensure they have equal access to programming. 95% of those people return to society. >> one more quick one. one of my experiences, as well as i think in relationship that

i tried to develop with the federal system within the state of wisconsin, one of the things that's always linked is the literacy rate compared to recidivism. we find that if an inmate can read at an eighth grade later, they are likely to recommit. is that something you have looked at or checked into? is it something you monitor? >> congressman, we have lots of literacy programs. high school equivalency, ged. we encourage inmates. that's part of the risk to need assessment had they come in. we assess them. we address their needs. we assign them programs to address their needs. that's precisely what the first step back is for. we were doing that all along. we have had a risk to need assessment. we just formalized it under the first step action. >> thank you, madam chair. i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman for his questioning. now i'm pleased to yield to the

gentle lady from st. louis, missouri, vice chair of the committee, congresswoman bush, you are recognized for five minutes. g with unanimous consent to enter into the record 17 women across five federal facilities that is provided that is formally incarcerated women and girls. >> without objection so ordered. >> in these e-mails to detail horrifying accounts of not being allowed to get out of bed because of covid lockdowns to have little or no access with those underlying conditions having them pay two dollars to file a sick complaint this is happening under your watch and those are isolated and systemic.

and then to hold you accountable that we can and i would like to use this opportunity on —- opportunity that they cannot directly ask you out of fear of retaliation. yes or no are you aware of the complaints across so many of your facilities quick. >> i am not aware of those complaints but i am certainly interested in hearing from you and your staff so we can look into them if that happened it is unacceptable. >> thank you. >> my able to access those laws? >> we keep a log of complaints and take all allegations seriously we follow the process and the inspector general and where needed other law enforcement agencies the

investigatory agencies we take all of those complaints and allegations seriously and look into them. >> if you would like i can have my staff reach out to you and if we can we will provide that to you. >> . >> and those to incarcerate individuals and those away from the trauma and the abuse of the federal prison population has grown keeping them in prison it is an act of cruelty. and those that are incarcerated have redo and that 24000 those of federal custody of confinement and as of today have those been reviewed for home confinement

instead the 50 or 75 percent quick. >> we review all eligible inmates and we did that replaced over 37,009,000 for specific those are 9000 inmates who are now not into community custody in the population is reduced. >> we looked at the website earlier today is that in accurate? >> i'm not certain which information. >> the federal bureau of prison website. two weeks ago sent a letter seeking clarification from the bureau for the guidance on home confinement under the c.a.r.e.s. act and we asked for a response no later than

february the seventh of this year can we get a commitment this is forthcoming quick. >> we are working on looking at that there is a clearance process but we will get you an answer one way or another. >> the gentle lady yield back it is my pleasure to yield to the gentle man from iowa for five minutes you are recognized. >> now we are happy to move to the gentle man from rhode island we are pleased to yield five minutes you are recognized. >> i also cut my response to

that so that hearing on januaryt to learn more about the parent pandemic and so my first question is with the public health emergency and with all of the others we have seen successful integration from compassionate release that seems to make sense to utilize this to all. and then high serious risk of covid-19. >> the compassion and release process is sometimes confused with the home confinement and

that process is much more difficult not designed to be a timely process each has to be reviewed and make on —- unique. >> . >> do you use compassionate release relating to the serious risk of illness? >> and with that home compliant confinement but yes we do calling a reduction motion to evaluate that and assess that under the policy. >> that you use compassionate release for individuals from higher from covid and what is your current policy? is not a hard question. >> if they submit a request we follow our policies and statute and review it if it is appropriate we make the motion if not it is denied. >> healthcare workers across the country are experiencing

burnout. and the staff feel similarly especially in the facility and those statistics i have seen over time with the ongoing risk of covid-19 and that expanded authority why are they not utilizing the mitigation strategies like compassionate release for those individuals? >> we are utilizing it we make recommendations to the court as appropriate they make a final decision if the motion if they can do that after 30 days and it goes through the system. >> and with that solitary confinement i concur and the

number increased 500 percent in 2020 and with the medical isolation has caused unbelievable harm for incarcerated individuals so what steps should the leadership take to ensure it is following the appropriate guidance and not solitary confinement with this or any future public health emergency? >> we follow the cdc guidance we go above and beyond. and then what is confused with solitary confinement there are institutes when those are replaced in restricted housing isolated medically and in most cases it is appropriate. we don't place people from the general population in

restricted housing. there is a case it is an issue we are out of space, there are different rules for that. >> february 2020 the repertoire on torture with the statement released to confinement stating "a severe and irreparable physical consequence of solitary confinement and of those cognitive interference and suicidal tendencies. and with that psychological torture. is the bop aware of solitary confinement of individuals in their care and you have policies in place to reduce solitary confinement and with all of the background and with

that use in your efforts to mitigate? >> that is a lot of information i will get that to you we are committed to continue to appropriately reduce restrictive housing and in some cases there is a reason for it but we have policies in place and those earning time credits we can get you all that information and answer any question you have regarding that. >> the making rounds if they are experiencing psychological torture is not sufficient. thank you to the chairwoman and i yield. >> . >> and my pleasure to yield to the distinguished gentleman from california.

>> you are now recognized for five minutes. >> and with that important oversight hearing thank you for your public service. how many covid vaccines have you administered quick. >> over 292,000 doses 80 percent of the staff give or take are vaccinated and 70 percent of any population. >> did anyone die as a result of getting the vaccine? >> i do not know that. i would have to give information from our medical doctor i don't have that information in front of me.

>> . >> i'm sure i would have if somebody did die. >> i will tell you you would have been told. now do you see the cdc said if you get a covid-19 vaccine and booster shot you are 97 times less likely to die than if you are unvaccinated? are you aware of that? >> so i want to agree with a president who said one of the greatest achievements of mankind and to talk about those religious exemptions. and that said getting covid-19 vaccine is a moral obligation.

>> was there any religious exemptions. >> i don't personally review those exemptions and i am certain we can get you that information but we ceased because of the preliminary injunction with religious and medical exemption for the time being. >> and so to articles for the record june 192020 entitled the forces under scrutiny in the dc protest and training mishaps. >> and the federal agents from

politico dated june 5, 2020. was the bureau of prison crackdown on protesters and where they unmarked? >> we did assist apartment on —- the department of justice and i was asked this question during a press conference and initially within the first few days our staff were not properly marked in essence on the civilian side to recognize with local institutional levels and we corrected that. and the bureau of prison personnel it was an in on —- oversight. that is what is appropriately marked operated at the federal bureau of prisons they are federal officers.

>> . >> we corrected the issue before that and we deployed that sense. >> also allegations with the accepted use of force that used tear gas that were not appropriate. and then trained to deal with prison issues did they get training dealing with crowds with rights to free speech? >> those are undercurrent review so i don't think it's appropriate for me to comment on them. i can check back with my staff with the status of that that we can answer questions off-line. i don't want to misspeak in

this forum. if it is still under review. >> and then they will prevent the attorney general after the us marshals. >> i yield back. >> . >> thank you very much for your questioning. and then with another important distinguished member you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you madame chairman

asking of the questions asked earlier let me know i have been added a hearing with the helsinki commission these are important issues as well the pandemic has highlighted many of the feelings of the bop that is failing to protect the health of those in their custody and the staff from covid-19 to address chronic understaffing. and then such as the first step act. what lessons have you learned for your successor? >> . >> if you're asking about lessons learned from the pandemic we follow cdc guidance from the number one

and we need to protect the most vulnerable and the quarantine in the same lessons the rest of the country has known. and that with that process in place. with those institutions they have visited and the pandemic plan is in collaboration with the cdc. >> and the success of the operation warp speed. >> and then to get individuals that could be a eligible for a release with the bureau of work speed for the prisons. >> i'm not sure i know what you are referring to we are fully compliant with the first

step back. >> we formalized it we released inmates i'm not sure what you are referring to. >> wasn't late january for those folks that would be eligible for release? but at one point it was. >> and the rule of the process. and with the end of january 20. >> and with the biden administration with the reincarceration. and with those commutation of their sentences under the c.a.r.e.s. act was it successful?

>> returning people to society were 95 percent of the people go. we understand it is important we have done so with 37000. and only 320 of those we follow a statute and the rules. and then we continue to do so. >> the office of justice of legal counsel published a memorandum the bureau of prisons is not compliant under the c.a.r.e.s. act. and then in the department of justice memorandum. and then to apply for

commutation. >> yes i am aware of the llc opinion and we have not nailed down the how to be as transparent as possible but then to take the information to follow the law. >> and then where mr. epstein allegedly committed suicide you there quick. >> i was not. >> but you were when michael cohen was arrested and brought back. >> that did happen. >> we made aware of that? the desire to have him brought back into custody in solitary confinement quick. >> i was not made aware of that prior to i was briefed afterwords because he is a high publicity case but i was

not directly involved in the decision. >> sense mr. epstein committed suicide and the security was awful. >> the time has expired. >> but we appropriately have the supervision. >> thank you madame chair. >> thank you very much. >> this has been an important hearing and insightful by members of both sides of the aisle. as become to conclusion as ranking member

as we come to a conclusion, mr. biggs, as ranking member, do you have any additional points that you might want to place on the record at this time? >> thank you, madam chair. thank you, director, for being here. i look forward to the number of responses that you indicated to me that you would have your staff get to me. i look forward to seeing those. madam chair, i will yield back to you. >> i thank the gentleman very much. director, just one final point that comes out of the testimony of dr. vinters, who is an ad junct faculty, he investigation revealed a lack of care when a new medical problem is encountered. we have heard those questions coming from several members. this process called sick call in

most settings relies on the ability of incarcerated people to submit a written or electronic concern and then be seen in a face-to-face encounter within a day or two. in the first facility that he had the time to -- had the opportunity to visit, as he inspected the metropolitan detention center, it became apparent that co-vitd-19 symptoms were being ignored by the facility was destroying the original request which violates basic correctional standards. as this is an accountability hearing and a recognition that there should be -- if you will -- accountability and the exercise of punitive measures, we have concluded these are human beings deserving of restoration and dignity. men and women. can you comment on that kind of action? >> yes, congresswoman, i

appreciate you allowing me to clarify that. i am aware of the report. we looked into it. we followed up. i won't discuss that specific incident. i will reassure you that each of our institutions has an outpatient clinic. it's overseen by a board state certified physician and a medical director. we have outside oversight. we have joint commission, aca. we have received the same reviews that any outside clinic or nursing home. our mortalities are reviewed. i'm not sure -- we get oversight. if there's a mistake made or something of that nature, we will look into it and do something about it. correct the issue. >> thank you, director. what i would ask specifically is some of the questions that may not have been answered more thoroughly, our staff will get with you so we can get answers in writing. that in particular at the metropolitan detention center in brooklyn, new york. your memory -- it may not come to your attention.

i want a direct response and answer on that matter. i thank you for that. i'm also going to suggest that there is a board of health oversight for the department of prison -- federal bureau of prisons. i think one that is specifically focused on helping the bureau going forward will be very helpful. let me finally submit into the record, cases spike in women's facility. as i conclude, director, let me say i'm not sure of whether or not you will appear before this committee or a commit in the other body. let me take this opportunity to show our appreciation from a person who has chosen as his career to serve the nation. obviously, coming into the bureau many, many years ago, you have continued to make a commitment to serve this nation. so it's my privilege to be able to say thank you for your

service. it should not go unnoticed. you have served under many administrations, democratic and republican. you have chosen to commit yourself to the lives and ultimate liberty of individuals we hope will be restored and will enter into society and never to return again. i hope that is your vision. as i thank you, i want to make sure that we thank the hard working officers who go by the appropriate mixture of reform, accountability and compassion. so thank you again for your testimony this morning. this concludes -- and your service to the nation. this concludes today's hearing. thank you to our distinguished witness for attending. without objection, all members wim have five although layive days to submit written questions for the witness or additional materials for the record. the hearing is now adjourned. i hope that was heard. thank you very much. >> thank you, congresswoman. at least six presidents

recorded conversations while in office. hear many of those conversations on c-span's new podcast, presidential recordings. >> season one focuses on the presidency of lyndon johnson. you will hear about the 1964 civil rights act, 1964 presidential campaign, gulf of tonkin incident, march on selma and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> certainly, johnson's secretaries knew, because they were tasked with transcribing many of those conversations. in fact, they were the ones who made sure that the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and theirs. >> you will hear some blunt talk.

>> presidential recordings, find it on the c-span now mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. coming up next, a discussion on law enforcement initiatives and reforms with the associate attorney general and the former police chief for washington, d.c. and philadelphia. they spoke with may erz from around the country during the u.s. conference of mayors. >> a lot of our departments recovered a lot of illegally obtained firearms that are coming from across state lines. they are comg