USC Chapter 307

in effect

18 U.S.C. § 4121 Federal Prison Industries; board of directors

“Federal Prison Industries”, a government corporation of the District of Columbia, shall be administered by a board of six directors, appointed by the President to serve at the will of the President without compensation. The directors shall be representatives of (1) industry, (2) labor, (3) agriculture, (4) retailers and consumers, (5) the Secretary of Defense, and (6) the Attorney General, respectively.

18 U.S.C. § 4122 Administration of Federal Prison Industries

(a) Federal Prison Industries shall determine in what manner and to what extent industrial operations shall be carried on in Federal penal and correctional institutions for the production of commodities for consumption in such institutions or for sale to the departments or agencies of the United States, but not for sale to the public in competition with private enterprise. (b)(1) Its board of directors shall provide employment for the greatest number of those inmates in the United States penal and correctional institutions who are eligible to work as is reasonably possible, diversify, so far as practicable, prison industrial operations and so operate the prison shops that no single private industry shall be forced to bear an undue burden of competition from the products of the prison workshops, and to reduce to a minimum competition with private industry or free labor. (2) Federal Prison Industries shall conduct its operations so as to produce products on an economic basis, but shall avoid capturing more than a reasonable share of the market among Federal departments, agencies, and institutions for any specific product. Federal Prison Industries shall concentrate on providing to the Federal Government only those products which permit employment of the greatest number of those inmates who are eligible to work as is reasonably possible. (3) Federal Prison Industries shall diversify its products so that its sales are distributed among its industries as broadly as possible. (4) Any decision by Federal Prison Industries to produce a new product or to significantly expand the production of an existing product shall be made by the board of directors of the corporation. Before the board of directors makes a final decision, the corporation shall do the following:(A) The corporation shall prepare a detailed written analysis of the probable impact on industry and free labor of the plans for new production or expanded production. In such written analysis the corporation shall, at a minimum, identify and consider—(i) the number of vendors currently meeting the requirements of the Federal Government for the product; (ii) the proportion of the Federal Government market for the product currently served by small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, or businesses operating in labor surplus areas; (iii) the size of the Federal Government and non-Federal Government markets for the product; (iv) the projected growth in the Federal Government demand for the product; and (v) the projected ability of the Federal Government market to sustain both Federal Prison Industries and private vendors. (B) The corporation shall announce in a publication designed to most effectively provide notice to potentially affected private vendors the plans to produce any new product or to significantly expand production of an existing product. The announcement shall also indicate that the analysis prepared under subparagraph (A) is available through the corporation and shall invite comments from private industry regarding the new production or expanded production. (C) The corporation shall directly advise those affected trade associations that the corporation can reasonably identify the plans for new production or expanded production, and the corporation shall invite such trade associations to submit comments on those plans. (D) The corporation shall provide to the board of directors—(i) the analysis prepared under subparagraph (A) on the proposal to produce a new product or to significantly expand the production of an existing product, (ii) comments submitted to the corporation on the proposal, and (iii) the corporation’s recommendations for action on the proposal in light of such comments. In addition, the board of directors, before making a final decision under this paragraph on a proposal, shall, upon the request of an established trade association or other interested representatives of private industry, provide a reasonable opportunity to such trade association or other representatives to present comments directly to the board of directors on the proposal. (5) Federal Prison Industries shall publish in the manner specified in paragraph (4)(B) the final decision of the board with respect to the production of a new product or the significant expansion of the production of an existing product. (6) Federal Prison Industries shall publish, after the end of each 6-month period, a list of sales by the corporation for that 6-month period. Such list shall be made available to all interested parties. (c) Its board of directors may provide for the vocational training of qualified inmates without regard to their industrial or other assignments. (d)(1) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the industrial employment and training of prisoners convicted by general courts-martial and confined in any institution under the jurisdiction of any department or agency comprising the Department of Defense, to the extent and under terms and conditions agreed upon by the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General and the Board of Directors of Federal Prison Industries. (2) Any department or agency of the Department of Defense may, without exchange of funds, transfer to Federal Prison Industries any property or equipment suitable for use in performing the functions and duties covered by agreement entered into under paragraph (1) of this subsection. (e)(1) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the industrial employment and training of prisoners confined in any penal or correctional institution under the direction of the Commissioner of the District of Columbia to the extent and under terms and conditions agreed upon by the Commissioner, the Attorney General, and the Board of Directors of Federal Prison Industries. (2) The Commissioner of the District of Columbia may, without exchange of funds, transfer to the Federal Prison Industries any property or equipment suitable for use in performing the functions and duties covered by an agreement entered into under subsection (e)(1) of this section. (3) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect the provisions of the Act approved October 3, 1964 (D.C. Code, sections 24–451 et seq.), entitled “An Act to establish in the Treasury a correctional industries fund for the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.”

18 U.S.C. § 4123 New industries

Any industry established under this chapter shall be so operated as not to curtail the production of any existing arsenal, navy yard, or other Government workshop. Such forms of employment shall be provided as will give the inmates of all Federal penal and correctional institutions a maximum opportunity to acquire a knowledge and skill in trades and occupations which will provide them with a means of earning a livelihood upon release. The industries may be either within the precincts of any penal or correctional institution or in any convenient locality where an existing property may be obtained by lease, purchase, or otherwise.

18 U.S.C. § 4124 Purchase of prison-made products by Federal departments

(a) The several Federal departments and agencies and all other Government institutions of the United States shall purchase at not to exceed current market prices, such products of the industries authorized by this chapter as meet their requirements and may be available. (b) Disputes as to the price, quality, character, or suitability of such products shall be arbitrated by a board consisting of the Attorney General, the Administrator of General Services, and the President, or their representatives. Their decision shall be final and binding upon all parties. (c) Each Federal department, agency, and institution subject to the requirements of subsection (a) shall separately report acquisitions of products and services from Federal Prison Industries to the Federal Procurement Data System (as referred to in section 1122(a)(4) of title 41) in the same manner as it reports other acquisitions. Each report published by the Federal Procurement Data System that contains the information collected by the System shall include a statement to accompany the information reported by the department, agency, or institution under the preceding sentence as follows: “Under current law, sales by Federal Prison Industries are considered intragovernmental transfers. The purpose of reporting sales by Federal Prison Industries is to provide a complete overview of acquisitions by the Federal Government during the reporting period.”. (d) Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, Federal Prison Industries shall publish a catalog of all products and services which it offers for sale. This catalog shall be updated periodically to the extent necessary to ensure that the information in the catalog is complete and accurate.

18 U.S.C. § 4125 Public works; prison camps

(a) The Attorney General may make available to the heads of the several departments the services of United States prisoners under terms, conditions, and rates mutually agreed upon, for constructing or repairing roads, clearing, maintaining and reforesting public lands, building levees, and constructing or repairing any other public ways or works financed wholly or in major part by funds appropriated by Congress. (b) The Attorney General may establish, equip, and maintain camps upon sites selected by him elsewhere than upon Indian reservations, and designate such camps as places for confinement of persons convicted of an offense against the laws of the United States. (c) The expenses of transferring and maintaining prisoners at such camps and of operating such camps shall be paid from the appropriation “Support of United States prisoners”, which may, in the discretion of the Attorney General, be reimbursed for such expenses. (d) As part of the expense of operating such camps the Attorney General is authorized to provide for the payment to the inmates or their dependents such pecuniary earnings as he may deem proper, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe. (e) All other laws of the United States relating to the imprisonment, transfer, control, discipline, escape, release of, or in any way affecting prisoners, shall apply to prisoners transferred to such camps.

18 U.S.C. § 4126 Prison Industries Fund; use and settlement of accounts

(a) All moneys under the control of Federal Prison Industries, or received from the sale of the products or by-products of such Industries, or for the services of federal prisoners, shall be deposited or covered into the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Prison Industries Fund and withdrawn therefrom only pursuant to accountable warrants or certificates of settlement issued by the Government Accountability Office. (b) All valid claims and obligations payable out of said fund shall be assumed by the corporation. (c) The corporation, in accordance with the laws generally applicable to the expenditures of the several departments, agencies, and establishments of the Government, is authorized to employ the fund, and any earnings that may accrue to the corporation—(1) as operating capital in performing the duties imposed by this chapter; (2) in the lease, purchase, other acquisition, repair, alteration, erection, and maintenance of industrial buildings and equipment; (3) in the vocational training of inmates without regard to their industrial or other assignments; (4) in paying, under rules and regulations promulgated by the Attorney General, compensation to inmates employed in any industry, or performing outstanding services in institutional operations, not less than 15 percent of such compensation for any inmate shall be reserved in the fund or a separate account and made available to assist the inmate with costs associated with release from prison, and compensation to inmates or their dependents for injuries suffered in any industry or in any work activity in connection with the maintenance or operation of the institution in which the inmates are confined. In no event may compensation for such injuries be paid in an amount greater than that provided in chapter 81 of title 5. (d) Accounts of all receipts and disbursements of the corporation shall be rendered to the Government Accountability Office for settlement and adjustment, as required by the Comptroller General. (e) Such accounting shall include all fiscal transactions of the corporation, whether involving appropriated moneys, capital, or receipts from other sources. (f) Funds available to the corporation may be used for the lease, purchase, other acquisition, repair, alteration, erection, or maintenance of facilities only to the extent such facilities are necessary for the industrial operations of the corporation under this chapter. Such funds may not be used for the construction or acquisition of penal or correctional institutions, including camps described in section 4125.

18 U.S.C. § 4127 Prison Industries report to Congress

The board of directors of Federal Prison Industries shall submit an annual report to the Congress on the conduct of the business of the corporation during each fiscal year, and on the condition of its funds during such fiscal year. Such report shall include a statement of the amount of obligations issued under section 4129(a)(1) during such fiscal year, and an estimate of the amount of obligations that will be so issued in the following fiscal year.

18 U.S.C. § 4128 Enforcement by Attorney General

In the event of any failure of Federal Prison Industries to act, the Attorney General shall not be limited in carrying out the duties conferred upon him by law.

18 U.S.C. § 4129 Authority to borrow and invest

(a)(1) As approved by the board of directors, Federal Prison Industries, to such extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts, is authorized to issue its obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Treasury, in the Secretary’s discretion, may purchase or agree to purchase any such obligations, except that the aggregate amount of obligations issued by Federal Prison Industries under this paragraph that are outstanding at any time may not exceed 25 percent of the net worth of the corporation. For purchases of such obligations by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary is authorized to use as a public debt transaction the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31 after the date of the enactment of this section, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under that chapter are extended to include such purchases. Each purchase of obligations by the Secretary of the Treasury under this subsection shall be upon such terms and conditions as to yield a return at a rate not less than a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the current average yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturity. For purposes of the first sentence of this paragraph, the net worth of Federal Prison Industries is the amount by which its assets (including capital) exceed its liabilities. (2) The Secretary of the Treasury may sell, upon such terms and conditions and at such price or prices as the Secretary shall determine, any of the obligations acquired by the Secretary under this subsection. All purchases and sales by the Secretary of the Treasury of such obligations under this subsection shall be treated as public debt transactions of the United States. (b) Federal Prison Industries may request the Secretary of the Treasury to invest excess moneys from the Prison Industries Fund. Such investments shall be in public debt securities with maturities suitable to the needs of the corporation as determined by the board of directors, and bearing interest at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration current market yields on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturities.

18 U.S.C. § 4130 Additional markets

(a) In General.—Except as provided in subsection (b), notwithstanding any other provision of law, Federal Prison Industries may sell products to—(1) public entities for use in penal or correctional institutions; (2) public entities for use in disaster relief or emergency response; (3) the government of the District of Columbia; and (4) any organization described in subsection (c)(3), (c)(4), or (d) of section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. (b) Office Furniture.—Federal Prison Industries may not sell office furniture to the organizations described in subsection (a)(4). (c) Definitions.—In this section:(1) The term “office furniture” means any product or service offering intended to meet the furnishing needs of the workplace, including office, healthcare, educational, and hospitality environments. (2) The term “public entity” means a State, a subdivision of a State, an Indian tribe, and an agency or governmental corporation or business of any of the foregoing. (3) The term “State” means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.