House votes 376-8 to strengthen protections for prison staff against inmate sexual abuse
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 376-8 on Aug. 31, 2026, to pass S. 307, the Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act, a bill aimed at addressing sexual harassment and sexual assault of federal prison staff by inmates. Forty-six members did not vote.
The measure passed under suspension of the rules, a fast-track procedure that limits debate and requires a two-thirds majority. Because the Senate had already passed the bill in April 2025, House approval sent it to the president; it was signed into law on Sept. 16, 2026.
The bill responds to a 2023 Justice Department inspector general report that examined sexual incidents in the Bureau of Prisons and found that inmate-on-staff sexual harassment and assault was widespread, and that the bureau did not collect adequate data to gauge the full scope of the problem. It requires the Bureau of Prisons to fully implement the report's recommendations within 90 days, or explain to Congress why it has not. It then directs the inspector general to collect and analyze updated data on such incidents, and ultimately requires the attorney general to adopt national standards for the prevention, reduction, and punishment of sexual harassment and assault committed by inmates against correctional officers and other prison employees.
The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, and Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat. Rep. Laurel Lee, a Florida Republican, managed the bill on the House floor and described it as "bipartisan legislation to better protect the men and women who serve in our Federal corrections facilities." She cited a Justice Department survey in which 40 percent of Bureau of Prisons employees reported experiencing sexual harassment or assault by an inmate.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, also spoke in support, saying the bill would require the department to "improve the safety of Bureau of Prisons facilities across America." He noted that the bill does not address staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct, which he said is covered by the separate Prison Rape Elimination Act.
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