Congress has recently passed a bill aimed at improving oversight and transparency within the troubled federal Bureau of Prisons after reports from The Associated Press revealed widespread corruption. The legislation, which received unanimous approval in the Senate and was passed by the House in May, will require the Justice Department’s Inspector General to conduct thorough inspections of all 122 Bureau of Prisons facilities, offer solutions to address issues, and assign risk scores to each facility. The Federal Prison Oversight Act is now awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature to become law.

In addition to enhancing oversight, the bill will create an independent ombudsman tasked with investigating internal problems within the agency, such as staff-on-inmate sexual abuse, prisoner escapes, and notable deaths. The legislation was introduced by Senators Jon Ossoff, Mike Braun, and Dick Durbin, seeking to address the ongoing issues within the Bureau of Prisons.

A recent investigation by The Associated Press has exposed significant previously unreported flaws within the Bureau of Prisons, which is the largest law enforcement agency in the Justice Department. With over 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates, and an annual budget of roughly $8 billion, the Bureau of Prisons has been plagued by incidents of sexual abuse, criminal behavior by staff members, numerous escapes, persistent violence, fatalities, and severe staffing shortages that have impeded responses to emergencies like inmate attacks and suicides.