Pappas, Goodlander Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Address Chronic Staffing Shortages at Federal Prisons

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) are leading bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives to address persistent staffing shortages at federal prisons across the country, including at FCI Berlin in New Hampshire. The Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act would provide a 35% special salary rate increase for federal correctional officers nationwide. The legislation is led in the U.S. Senate by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and David McCormick (R-PA). The legislation was introduced in the House alongside Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Congressman Rob Bresnahan (PA-08). 

The bill is designed to boost recruitment and retention, reduce excessive mandatory overtime and burnout, enhance safety for officers and incarcerated individuals, and strengthen operations across the Bureau of Prisons. 

“Chronic staffing shortages at federal prisons risk the safety of the staff, incarcerated individuals, and communities. This bipartisan legislation would reinstate pay incentives that the Trump Administration revoked to help recruitment and retention efforts and ensure prisons have the personnel needed,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “I’ll continue working to support dedicated public employees who show up every day for New Hampshire.”

“Our federal correctional officers in Berlin have some of the toughest jobs and most important jobs in New Hampshire. But year after year, they have been asked to do more and more with less and less — and it’s just not right,” said Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander. “Our bipartisan bill is about ensuring fair pay for hardworking Granite Staters and ensuring our federal prison is properly staffed with the professional and well-trained workforce it needs to operate safely and justly.”

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has faced severe staffing shortages for years that have strained facilities nationwide. A February 2024 report from the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General found that reliance on augmentation and mandatory overtime has overburdened staff and may contribute to fatigue, sleep deprivation, and decreased vigilance—raising serious safety concerns. 

Specifically, the Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act would:

• Enact a special rate of pay for federal correctional officers to address chronic recruitment and retention challenges
• Establish a 35% increase to the General Schedule (GS) pay scale for correctional officers
• Apply the enhanced pay rate to officers with custodial responsibilities, including GS, GL law enforcement officers, and eligible prevailing-rate employees
• Include a sunset provision requiring the DOJ Inspector General to evaluate whether BOP has made measurable progress in reducing augmentation and excessive mandatory overtime; if progress is achieved, the special pay rate would remain in place, with findings reported to Congress 

Pappas supports the Protect America’s Workforce Act, bipartisan legislation to repeal a presidential executive order that stripped union rights from roughly 1 million federal workers, which passed the House in December, as well as the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act.