H.R. 4355 — Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings concerning the size, budget, and leadership of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), including that it had a budget exceeding $7 billion in FY2018 (second largest in the Department of Justice after the Federal Bureau of Investigation), oversaw 122 facilities and more than 176,000 federal inmates as of 2019, and employed more than 36,000 personnel in hazardous environments; it further notes that, unlike the directors of other major Department of Justice components (e.g., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration), the BOP director is not appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

This section revises the appointment of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons from appointment by the Attorney General to appointment by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, with the Director serving directly under the Attorney General. The section establishes a 10-year term for the Director (with service continuing until a successor is appointed), prohibits any individual from serving more than one term, and applies these changes to appointments made on or after enactment. The incumbent Director may continue serving until three months after enactment, and nothing limits the President's ability to appoint that individual under the revised requirements.