Congressman Fred Keller (R-PA) published an Op-Ed in The Hill Monday calling on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to do more to flatten the curve, including stopping all inmate movement immediately.
(Click to read Op-Ed)
Key excerpts are below:
Despite calls from a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and House members for all movement of inmates within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) system to stop during the COVID-19 national emergency, the agency has continued to move inmates between prison facilities nationwide.
In doing so, the Bureau of Prisons is ignoring public health guidelines and putting at risk the health and safety of inmates, corrections officers, their families, and the broader community.
Amid the many difficult stories over the past several weeks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreaks in prisons across the country have been particularly alarming.
To varying degrees, states have addressed the issue more swiftly than others. Pennsylvania, for instance, immediately put all state-run prisons on quarantine after the first inmate was diagnosed with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Unfortunately, the Bureau of Prisons has been reluctant to take decisive and preventative measures.
The Pausing All New Detention and Ending the Movement of Inmates for Coronavirus (PANDEMIC) Act of 2020 would stop the movement of inmates to and across the Bureau of Prisons system during the COVID-19 national emergency. I introduced the bill with both Republican and Democrat original co-sponsors and the number of supporters continues to grow.
While I was glad to see the Bureau of Prisons respond to our efforts with an updated COVID-19 action plan that further restricts inmate movement, the new plan does not go far enough. It must immediately halt all inmate movement until the pandemic passes.
Faced with a once-in-a-generation global health crisis, the world has sacrificed together to flatten the curve and save lives. We are asking the Bureau of Prisons to do the same.
You can read the full Op-Ed HERE.
