Overnight Regulation: Prison agency’s mistakes forced inmates to serve extra time

Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Wednesday evening here in Washington and I can’t get enough of the Chewbacca mask lady. It really is the little things in life. 

Here’s the latest. 

 

THE BIG STORY 

The federal Bureau of Prisons held 152 inmates beyond their scheduled release date due to staff errors, according to a new report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) covering 2009 to 2014.

The government watchdog found three of those prisoners were held for more than a year after they should have been released. Staff errors also resulted in the early release of five inmates — three of whom were let go a year before their sentences were scheduled to end.

{mosads}The report, published Tuesday, was prompted by 2014 news reports that the bureau had kept an inmate behind bars for 13 months beyond his scheduled release date.

Though the report notes that the error rate of 0.03 percent is low, given that 461,966 prisoners were released in that six-year period, the OIG said such errors can carry extraordinary consequences.

“Late releases from prison deprive inmates of their liberty, while early releases can put communities at risk if the inmates are dangerous,” its report said. “Early releases also can harm an inmate and the inmate’s family, particularly if the inmate’s efforts to gain employment and reestablish ties with the community are interrupted by a re-arrest for the purpose of completing the sentence.”

Late releases are also costly.

For the 152 late releases, the OIG estimated the total cost to the bureau, excluding litigation fees and settlements, to be approximately $669,814.

Additionally, the Department of Justice settled four lawsuits brought by inmates alleging untimely release from 2009 to 2015 — totaling $90,000; $120,000; $295,000; and $175,000, respectively.

Because the untimely releases were mostly caused by sentence computation errors, the OIG called on the bureau to implement additional sentence calculation processing or auditing strategies. http://bit.ly/1XuTqzt

 

ON TAP FOR WEDNESDAY

The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing to discuss TSA screening at airports. http://1.usa.gov/1XSts9B

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing to examine cybersecurity responsibilities at the Department of Health and Human Services. http://1.usa.gov/1sN9ulo

The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections will discuss effective and responsible record keeping standards to promote safe workplaces. http://1.usa.gov/1XEJGmK

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY 

The Obama administration will publish 162 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register.

— The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are moving forward with a rule that will require gas suppliers to report whether they publicly disclose greenhouse gas emissions and reduction goals.

The agencies said the information will help the government assess supplier greenhouse gas management practices and assist agencies in working with contractors to reduce supply chain emissions.

The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed rule. http://bit.ly/1TCtJup

–The Department of Veterans Affairs is moving forward with a rule that would give advanced practice registered nurses at VA facilities more authority to do work in their specialty.

In its rulemaking, the VA said the rule would increase the veterans’ access to VA healthcare by expanding the pool of qualified healthcare professionals who are authorized to provide primary care and other related services without the clinical supervision of physicians.

The public will have 60 days to comment on the rule. http://bit.ly/1TuMlj4

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW 

House passes chemical safety overhaul http://bit.ly/1OLPmUN

How Congress got to yes on toxic chemical reform http://bit.ly/1YWJ5eG

GOP rep: Bathroom guidance ‘egregious example’ of regulatory overreach http://bit.ly/25krjcC

Pressure builds from GOP to delay internet domain transition http://bit.ly/1OUIYjo

Tech groups want public probe into zero-rating data plans http://bit.ly/1WR845V

Senate votes to block financial adviser rule http://bit.ly/1NKwXN8

House votes to loosen EPA pesticide rules to fight Zika http://bit.ly/1WN0fxp

House Republicans press case for impeaching IRS commissioner http://bit.ly/1Vhffm9

The case for banning pornography – The Washington Post http://wapo.st/1OLLZgx

Leaked questions rekindle fierce debate over common core tests – The New York Times http://nyti.ms/1NKo8mq

 

BY THE NUMBERS

15.1 percent: Adult smoking rate in 2015, a record low.

16.8 percent: Adult smoking rate in 2014. 

27 percent: Drop in smoking rate since 2009. 

(Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY 

“An important point that gets lost in all this is that Congress created the agencies, delegated broad authority to the agencies and Congress funds the agencies, so if Congress does not approve of the direction of agency action, it can always rescind or limit the scope of the delegated authority,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said in a hearing of the House Judiciary Task Force on Executive Overreach. GOP lawmakers called the hearing to discuss the growth of regulations. 

For more on the hearing: http://bit.ly/25krjcC

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-release.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-release.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-release.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and @wheelerlydia.

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