Correctional Health Care Services Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Correctional Health Care Services Act of 1979 - Directs the Bureau of Prisons to make available to all persons incarcerated in Federal correctional institutions all medical, psychiatric, psychological, dental, surgical, gynecological, alcohol and drug abuse treatment, and related services necessary to maintain basic health at a level comparable to that prevailing in the community at large. Requires all such institutions under the authority of the Attorney General (except for community treatment centers) to maintain a hospital or infirmary under the direction of a Chief Medical Officer. Specifies requirements for such institutions with respect to the medical care of prisoners. Directs the Attorney General to report annually to Congress with respect to compliance with such standards. Makes the remedy against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act for personal injury caused by the negligence of medical personnel of the Bureau of Prisons (whether employed by contract or otherwise) exclusive of any other civil action by reason of the same subject matter against such personnel. Directs the Attorney General to defend any civil action or proceeding brought in any court against any such medical personnel. Requires any such civil action or proceeding commenced in a State court to be removed without bond to an appropriate district court, upon certification that the employee was acting in an official capacity. Makes nonapplicable to any such cause of action the current exception to the tort claims procedure which excepts Government employees exercising due care. Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to hold harmless or provide liability insurance for medical personnel for personal injury damages under certain circumstances. Allows a physician or medical officer providing care to persons committed to the custody of the Attorney General compensatory time off for services performed at other than regularly scheduled times. Allows an autopsy to be performed on the body of a deceased prisoner by order of the warden or chief executive officer of the institution if consented to in writing by a person authorized under State law to permit such autopsy. Directs such a warden or officer to notify the chief medical officer of the institution or a licensed physician certified or board eligible in anatomic pathology of specified types of deaths of a prisoner of such institutions, such as violent deaths or deaths under suspicious circumstances. Allows such physician who opines that further investigation is required to arrange for an autopsy with the permission of the warden or executive officer.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on August 1, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 1, 1979: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ROBERT KASTENMEIER (D-WI) introduced it on August 1, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on August 1, 1979, 17207 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17207 days ago, on August 1, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers