To provide for expedited compassionate release in the event of a public health emergency.

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2194 To provide for expedited compassionate release in the event of a public health emergency. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 26, 2021 Mr. CICILLINE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for expedited compassionate release in the event of a public health emergency. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. COMPASSIONATE RELEASE FOR PUBLIC 3 HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3622 of title 18, United 5 States Code, is amended— 6 (1) in the matter preceding subsection (a), by 7 inserting ‘‘or the sentencing court’’ after ‘‘The Bu- 8 reau of Prisons’’; 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2194.IH H2194 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2194 IH (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 1 end; 2 (3) in subsection (c), by striking the period at 3 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 4 (4) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(d) in the event of a public health emergency and 6 if the Bureau or the sentencing court, as the case may 7 be, determines that there exists a substantial, imminent 8 health risk to the prisoner, other prisoners, or Bureau em- 9 ployees, reside in the community under the supervision of 10 the Office of Probation and Pretrial Services for the judi- 11 cial district in which the community is located.’’. 12 (b) COMPASSIONATE RELEASE PETITION.—Section 13 3582 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 14 (1) in subsection (c)(1)(A), in the matter pre- 15 ceding clause (i) by inserting ‘‘or, during a public 16 health emergency (as defined in section 3627), upon 17 motion of the defendant prior to exhaustion of all 18 administrative appeals or the lapse of 30-days,’’ 19 after ‘‘whichever is earlier,’’; and 20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(f) PROCEDURES DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH 22 EMERGENCY.— 23 ‘‘(1) PROMPT RELEASE OF MEDICAL 24 RECORDS.—If the defendant’s attorney submits a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2194.IH H2194 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2194 IH declaration to the Bureau of Prisons under penalty 1 of perjury that counsel is seeking records to file a 2 motion described in subsection (c)(1)(A) during a 3 public health emergency, the Bureau of Prisons shall 4 promptly release all medical records from the year 5 preceding the declaration to the defendant’s attor- 6 ney. 7 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—The court 8 shall expedite, to the extent practicable, ruling on 9 motions filed under subsection (c)(1)(A) during a 10 public health emergency.’’. 11 (d) DEFINITION OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 12 Subchapter C of chapter 229 of title 18, United States 13 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘§ 3627. Definition of public health emergency 15 ‘‘In this subchapter, the term ‘public health emer- 16 gency’— 17 ‘‘(1) means— 18 ‘‘(A) a public health emergency declared by 19 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 20 under section 319 of the Public Health Service 21 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); or 22 ‘‘(B) a public health emergency declared 23 by the Governor of a State or territory in which 24 a Bureau of Prisons facility is located; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2194.IH H2194 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2194 IH ‘‘(2) includes the public health emergency de- 1 clared by the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 2 ices on January 31, 2020, in response to COVID– 3 19.’’. 4 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 5 The table of sections for subchapter C of chapter 229 of 6 title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 7 end the following: 8 ‘‘3627. Definition of public health emergency.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2194.IH H2194 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS