{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-ossoff-laud-senate-passage-of-bipartisan-prison-contraband-bill", "Grassley, Ossoff Laud Senate Passage of Bipartisan Prison Contraband Bill", "2024-10-10", "2024", "2024-10", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Chuck Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", "grassley", "https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) applauded the Senate\u2019s unanimous passage of their Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act. The bipartisan bill aims to increase the penalty for smuggling or possessing a contraband cellphone in federal prisons from a misdemeanor to a felony. It now awaits passage in the House of Representatives.\n\n\u201cContraband cellphones allow prisoners to coordinate illegal activity from behind bars. That\u2019s an obvious security risk to prison staff, other inmates and the public,\u201d Grassley said. \u201cI\u2019m glad the Senate passed our bipartisan legislation to stiffen penalties for cellphone smuggling, and the House ought to follow suit.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy bipartisan investigations of corruption, abuse, and misconduct in the Federal prison system have revealed systemic challenges that allow for the dangerous flow of contraband, which is a threat to safety and security,\u201d Ossoff said. \u201cBringing Republicans and Democrats together, we\u2019ve passed our bipartisan bill to strengthen penalties for smuggling contraband into Federal prisons.\u201d\n\n\u201cA cell phone in a prison is a deadly weapon. Yet, as our investigative work continues to demonstrate, contraband cell phones have proven to be pervasive inside many federal prisons\u2014a reality that undermines the safety and security of these institutions for BOP staff, inmates, and the public,\u201d said Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz. \u201cLieutenant Albarati was a true hero, selflessly dedicated to making his community and MDC Guaynabo safer by preventing criminal activity inside the facility. I commend Senators Ossoff, Grassley, and Booker for honoring his memory by sponsoring this public safety reform and for recognizing the severity of this problem. By making the introduction of a cell phone into a prison a felony, the Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act will allow investigators and prosecutors to more effectively bring to justice those introducing cell phones into prisons, curb the flow of illicit cell phones into prisons, make our communities and prisons safer, and help to save lives. We look forward to working with the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis, as it considers this critical public safety reform.\u201d\n\nAdditional cosponsors include Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).\n\nBill text is available HERE.\n\nLetters of support from the National Council of Prison Locals, Voices of Joe and the American Federation of Government Employees are available HERE.\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act builds on the Grassley-Feinstein Cell Phone Contraband Act, which became law in 2010, designating cellphones as contraband in federal prison.\n\nLieutenant Osvaldo Albarati, a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional officer, was murdered in 2013 after completing his shift at a federal prison in Puerto Rico. Five men who plead guilty to the crime admitted they targeted Albarati as a direct result of continuous seizures of contraband, including cellphones. The inmate who placed the hit on Albarati did so using a contraband cellphone.\n\nA recent DOJ report from Inspector General Horowitz found nearly a third of deaths in BOP custody have occurred as a result of contraband, drugs or weapons.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-ossoff-laud-senate-passage-of-bipartisan-prison-contraband-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5589729882776737, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}