House Democrats Press U.S. Bureau of Prisons Over Staffing ‘Crisis’
A group of Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are demanding to know how the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) plans to address a widespread and persistent staffing shortage.
In the letter to BOP Director William Marshall III, the congressmembers write they believe that staffing issues have reached “a crisis point.” The letter cited a ProPublica investigation that found that BOP lost more than 1,400 employees in 2025, with some of them going over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to heavy recruiting and bonuses from that agency. The letter also stated that BOP only recently posted open correctional officer positions, despite obtaining significant additional funding in July to hire and retain experienced staff.
“We are deeply concerned that these developments compromise the safety and security of both inmates and staff. The shrinking existing workforce has been left to contend with an evergrowing use of overtime, which leads to fatigue, burnout, and increased attrition,” stated the letter, which was signed by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Ranking Member Lucy McBath (D-GA), Subcommittee on Oversight Ranking Member Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO).
The lawmakers gave the bureau a 30-day deadline to respond in writing to their questions which include asking for details on recruitment, retention, use of overtime. and how many employees the agency has lost.
A spokesperson said BOP “continues to prioritize efforts” to increase staffing, adding that some staff will always have to step in as corrections officers “for the safety and security of staff, inmates and the public.” And in January, BOP announced pay retention incentives for certain positions.
Union Contract Cancelled
The lawmakers also raised concerns about BOP’s cancellation of its collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) last September, impacting more than 30,000 BOP employees.
“Critics suggest that your cancellation of the collective bargaining agreement … appears retaliatory to staff complaints about workplace safety,” the lawmakers wrote.
AFGE Council of Prison Locals 33 is suing BOP over the contract termination.
Pay, Working Conditions Behind Staff Crunch
Meanwhile, a new report from the Congressional Research Service found that non-competitive pay and difficult working conditions are the main cause of the longstanding staffing problems at BOP.
The report found that vacancy rates for correctional officers (COs) jumped to 22-25 percent in 2022-2024, after being in the 10-12 percent range traditionally.
“Understaffing in CO positions can have several implications for the operations of the federal prison system. When there are not enough COs to staff all required posts at a correctional facility, BOP has to pay overtime to COs to staff those shifts,” noted the report.