FEDERAL PRISON SYSTEM

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

The conference agreement includes $4,627,696,000 for the salaries and expenses of the Federal Prison System as proposed by the Senate, instead of $4,567,232,000 as proposed by the House. The conferees believe that the budget request was inadequate to support the requirements of the Federal Prison System (FPS). The conference agreement provides an amount that should be sufficient to complete or begin activation of ten prisons and also continue operations at existing prisons. To ensure that the FPS is able to activate prisons on a two-year timeline, the conference agreement includes a provision making activation funds available until September 30, 2006. The conferees expect the ten new prisons to be receiving inmates by the date listed in the table below and have provided funding to maintain this schedule. Amounts are dedicated to activate each institution as follows:

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Institution                    Activation date Activation costs Inmate care nationwide   Total 

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Victorville, CA USP                       1/05          $28,200                 $5,836 $34,036 

Hazelton, WV USP                          1/05           37,300                  5,836  43,136 

Forrest City, AR facility                11/04           30,000                  2,918  32,918 

Herlong/Sierra, CA medium camp            3/05           30,700                  8,754  39,454 

Williamsburg, SC FCI                      9/04           38,000                  1,476  39,476 

Canaan, PA USP                            2/05           34,000                  7,295  41,295 

Terre Haute, IN USP                       3/05           26,000                  8,754  34,754 

Bennettsville, SC FCI                    12/04           32,500                  4,377  36,877 

Yazoo City, MS FCI                        2/05           26,300                  7,295  33,595 

Coleman, FL USP                           2/05           23,000                  7,295  30,295 

                                                        306,000                 59,836 365,836 

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Reprogramming Authority- The amounts designated in the table above for `activation costs' are intended for the sole purpose of bringing these new prisons online. The amounts designated in the table above for `inmate care nationwide' represent the cost associated with the inmates who will eventually be housed at the new facilities. The amounts designated in the table above are to be obligated as directed, and are therefore subject to the reprogramming procedures established in section 605 of this Act.

Carryover Amounts- In addition to the amounts designated in the table above, an additional $50,015,000 is available from amounts carried forward from fiscal year 2004 for prison activations. The conferees expect that funds for Victorville, CA; Williamsburg, SC; Canaan, PA; Hazelton, WV; Herlong/Sierra, CA; Forrest City, AR; and Yazoo City, MS will be obligated as planned. If the amounts required deviate from the planned levels, the FPS should submit a reprogramming notification in accordance with section 605 of this Act.

Base Operations- The conferees believe that the amount provided for this account is sufficient to support the base operational needs of the entire FPS. Within the amounts provided, the conferees provide base funding of $41,000,000 for FCI Gilmer, West Virginia and $41,000,000 for FCI Beckley, West Virginia.

Contract Confinement- The conference agreement includes $584,948,000 for the contractual costs associated with housing inmates. This amount includes $22,850,000 in contracts for the National Institute of Corrections and $9,400,000 for 4,500 additional low-security contract beds. The conferees adopt by reference House language regarding use of excess State, local, and private prison capacity to meet bedspace needs, if these facilities meet FPS standards. The conferees also adopt by reference Senate report language in support of private sector contract confinement.

Drug Treatment- The conferees expect that an amount equal to the fiscal year 2004 level will be provided for the transitional drug treatment program.

Joint Bureau of Prisons/Judiciary Pilot Program- The conference agreement includes a general provision supporting a pilot program that will allow the Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Florida to transfer computers for use by inmates reviewing electronic discovery.

Financial Plan- The conference agreement includes section 118, which requires submission of a financial plan. In requiring the submission of a financial plan, the conferees are mindful of the complexities of managing the budget for the FPS. However, the conferees believe that such a plan is justified in order to effectively carry out the oversight responsibilities of the Committees on Appropriations. To ensure that there is no unnecessary delay in operations of the FPS, the Committees will review the proposed financial plan and respond to the Department of Justice within 15 working days of receipt of the plan. However, submission of the financial plan does not replace the requirement for reprogramming notification under section 605 of the Act.

Sexual Misconduct- The conferees commend the FPS on its work to address and prevent sexual misconduct. With funds provided in earlier appropriations Acts, the National Institute of Corrections has made useful progress in providing training and technical support to correctional systems throughout the country to eliminate staff sexual misconduct with inmates, training in investigating cases, and training `trainers' in order that employees at every level will be more aware of, and better prepared to deal with, these cases. The conferees direct the FPS to continue these efforts and to report to the Committee by March 31, 2005, on progress made in this area.

The conference agreement incorporates by reference House report language regarding a reimbursable agreement. The conference agreement incorporates by reference Senate report language directing the FPS to move forward with the site investigation and planning for Hazelton, West Virginia. The conferees also incorporate by reference Senate report language regarding female inmates and medical records.