Sponsors (49)
The bill sharply raises pay and related benefits for federal correctional officers to improve retention and safety, but does so at meaningful cost and with a temporary, certification‑based structure that creates uncertainty and potential pay‑equity and administration issues.
Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officers receive a roughly 35% special-rate pay increase (treated as basic pay), raising take-home pay and boosting retirement and leave-related benefits which should improve recruitment and retention.
Higher special pay (and conditional continuation tied to reducing augmentation/overtime) is likely to improve frontline working conditions and officer safety, reduce turnover, and indirectly benefit inmates and surrounding communities.
The bill requires DOJ OIG review and reporting before the pay authority sunsets, increasing oversight and transparency about augmentation, overtime, and whether the special-pay authorities should continue.
The special-rate pay increases raise federal personnel costs and ongoing DOJ/BOP payroll spending, creating potential budget pressure and higher costs for taxpayers if authorities are continued.
Making the special pay temporary and dependent on OIG certification (a five-year sunset unless measurable progress is certified) creates pay uncertainty that could undermine recruitment and retention during the review period.
The authority creates pay disparities between BOP correctional staff and other federal employees and adds administrative complexity, which could fuel morale issues or calls for broader pay adjustments across the federal workforce.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a new special base pay rate for Federal correctional officers at the Bureau of Prisons and raises wages for certain prevailing-rate prison workers by 35%, treating those increases as basic pay for pay/benefit calculations and capping them at Executive Schedule levels. The authorities expire in five years unless the DOJ Inspector General finds the Bureau has reduced use of non‑custodial augmentation and excessive mandatory overtime and reports measurable progress, in which case the pay authorities continue.
Introduced January 13, 2026 by Daniel Goldman · Last progress January 13, 2026