Columbia Standard

U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin has requested that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approve a special pay rate for Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees to address significant staffing shortages across federal prisons. In a letter to Rob Shriver, Acting Director of OPM, Durbin emphasized the urgency of approving this request.

Durbin highlighted issues raised in recent Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearings, noting that understaffed federal prisons are unable to ensure the safety and wellbeing of incarcerated individuals or provide necessary services such as medical and mental health care. He also mentioned that noncustodial staff are being assigned routine correctional officer duties due to staffing shortages, which hampers the implementation of the First Step Act.

A report by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General in February 2024 identified insufficient staffing as a factor in at least 30 deaths among incarcerated adults. Durbin previously urged BOP Director Colette Peters to send a special pay rate request to OPM in May, aiming to improve recruitment and retention.

The BOP is experiencing a severe staffing crisis exacerbated by a 2017 Presidential Memorandum implementing a hiring freeze, resulting in a 14 percent decrease in staffing. The National Council of Prison Locals reports that since 2016, approximately 9,000 staff positions have been lost.

Durbin urged OPM to set special pay rates for agencies with significant recruitment or retention challenges. "BOP clearly meets these criteria," he wrote. He praised BOP's efforts to increase salaries and compete with state and local correctional institutions as well as the private sector.

He concluded by urging swift approval from OPM for nationwide special pay rates for critical employees while preserving current locality pay rates at BOP facilities.