Congress·In Committee·H.R. 4355

Senate Approval for Federal Prison Director

Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025

⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

This bill would change how the head of the federal prison system is chosen. Right now, the Attorney General picks the Director. Under this plan, the President would have to nominate a candidate, and the Senate would have to vote to approve them.
The Director would serve a single 10-year term. This is designed to make the position more independent and less likely to change every time a new President is elected, similar to how the head of the FBI is chosen.
The Bureau of Prisons is a massive agency with a budget of over $7 billion. It is responsible for more than 176,000 inmates and 36,000 employees. Lawmakers argue that because the agency is so large and handles so much money, the Senate should have a say in who leads it.
If the bill passes, the person currently leading the prisons could stay in the job for up to three months. After that, the President would need to officially nominate someone for the Senate to review and confirm.

2 milestones2 actions

Jul 10, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Jul 10, 2025

Introduced in House

1 bill

Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025

Feb 24 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025

Bill NumberHR 4355

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

(2)

D: 2

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