Congressman Fred Keller sends letter to House leaders urging inclusion of PANDEMIC Act in any additional COVID-19 legislative package
Notes legislation is needed to stop community spread
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Fred Keller (R-PA) on Wednesday sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan, urging swift passage of the Pausing All New Detentions and Ending the Movement of Inmates for Coronavirus (PANDEMIC) Act of 2020 either as standalone legislation or as part of any additional COVID-19 legislative package.
The PANDEMIC Act of 2020 was introduced last week with bipartisan support to halt the movement of federal inmates across the country due to the growing number of federal inmates and prisons staff diagnosed with COVID-19 and the devastating impact a COVID-19 outbreak in prisons would have on local communities and hospitals.
The bill currently has six cosponsors, including Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Congressman Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Congressman Mike Bost (R-IL), Congressman Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Congressman Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
In the letter, Congressman Keller notes the urgency passing this legislation because the federal Bureau of Prisons has refused to halt inmate movement on their own authority.
Here is an excerpt from the letter:
Currently, the BOP has a large outbreak of COVID-19 cases within its system. As of April 8, 2020, 314 inmates and staff at BOP facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 – more than the states of Alaska, Wyoming, and North Dakota.
Despite this, and while much of the country remains under stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders, the BOP continues to move inmates across the country. Even in its latest Phase 5 COVID-19 Action Plan, the BOP says inmate movement will continue.
Not only is this a prison issue, but the movement of inmates is a community issue. Of the 314 cases within the BOP system, 73 cases are staff members. That means BOP staff are being exposed to COVID-19 at work and then bringing the virus into the local community when they return home. Coupled with the fact that some COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic, moving inmates can threaten to expose corrections officers and staff members and turn them into unknowing carriers of this dangerous virus into their homes and communities.
A full copy of the letter can be found HERE.
