Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (WHTM) — Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D) and West Virginia Senator Jim Justice (R) are proposing legislation to help prevent drug-related deaths in federal prisons.
According to Senator Fetterman’s office, he and Senator Justice introduced the Bureau of Prisons Security Check and Action Against Narcotics in Mail Act (also known as the BOP SCAN Mail Act).
This bipartisan legislation would require the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to develop and implement a digital scanning strategy to prevent the smuggling of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into federal correctional facilities via mail.
“We have a responsibility to protect our federal correctional officers, prison support staff, and inmates, and we need to stop fentanyl and other deadly drugs from putting their lives at risk,” Senator Fetterman told reporters.
“I’m proud to collaborate with Senator Justice to introduce the BOP SCAN Mail Act, which builds on the success we’ve seen at USP Canaan in Pennsylvania.
By implementing these safeguards in correctional facilities across the country, this bill will keep dangerous drugs out of our prisons. I hope my colleagues will join us in getting this passed and signed into law; our prisons will be safer as a result.
According to Fetterman’s office, the number of overdose-related inmate deaths in federal prisons has increased by 600% over the past two decades.
The influx of these drugs, which are increasingly being smuggled through the mail, has also resulted in the death of one federal correctional officer and the hospitalization of dozens more in the last year.
If passed, the BOP SCAN Mail Act would expand a pilot program that began at USP Canaan in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and FCI Beckley in West Virginia.
Under this program, mail is scanned off-site and distributed digitally to federal prison inmates within 24 hours. If the mail is found to be free of synthetic drugs or opioids, original copies are distributed to inmates within 30 days.
Fetterman’s office claims the pilot program was completely successful in preventing staff exposure to lethal drugs via prison mail.
“The BOP SCAN Mail Act is a smart, measured, and much-needed step forward in confronting a crisis that continues to evolve,” said Brandy Moore White, National President of the National Council of Prison Locals 33. “We urge Congress to act quickly to pass this legislation and prioritize its implementation.
Our members and the communities we serve rely on your leadership to ensure that no correctional officer ever fears for their life while doing their job.”
Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) have all cosponsored the legislation.
Representatives Chris Pappas (D-NH-01) and Don Bacon (R-NE-02) introduced the House companion bill.
The BOP SCAN Mail Act has been supported by the national board of the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prisons Locals 33 (AFGE CPL-33), AFGE CPL-33 Locals 306, 307, 3003, and 4070, the National Association of Police Organizations, the National District Attorneys Association, the National Fraternal Order of Police, Mothers for Awareness and Prevention of Drug Abuse, the Police Officers’ Defense Coalition, and Treatment Communities of America.
To read the full bill, you can click here .
