,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #abie ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #c1 #bjbe,mr4 ,justice 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,fetterman1 ,mrs4 ,blackburn1 ,mr4 ,cassidy1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 ,mr4 ,cruz1 and ,ms4 ,hassan7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,director of the ,bureau of ,prisons to develop and implement a strategy to interdict fentanyl and other synthetic drugs in the mail at ,federal correctional facilities4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,bureau ,of ,prisons ,security ,check and ,action against ,narcotics in ,mail ,act or the ,,bop ,,scan ,mail ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,bureau of ,prisons has #abb institutions located throughout the ,united ,states1 employs nearly #ch1jjj employees1 and is responsible for more than #aej1jjj ,federal inmates4 7#b7 ,inmate mail is a primary entry point for smuggling drugs into correctional facilities1 with tainted mail incidents also on the rise4 7#c7 ,elimination of dangerous contraband1 including synthetic drugs1 in mail is essential to protecting the health and safety of employees of the ,bureau of ,prisons and ,federal inmates4 7#d7 ,prisons in the ,united ,states are increasingly deadly facilities1 with a #fjj percent rise in drug overdoses in recent years4 7#e7 ,the introduction of synthetic drugs1 particularly fentanyl and fentanyl analogues1 into correctional facilities by mail threatens employees1 inmates1 and the security of correctional institutions1 and the practice of deliberately lacing opioids to ensure targeted lethality represents a dramatic emerging concern4 7#f7 ,the foregoing factors add tremendous pressures and workload that further burden existing employees1 commonly reassigning officers from other functions to assist in processing mail4 7#g7 ,employees at correctional facilities at ,federal1 ,state1 and local levels continue to request drug interdiction technologies to protect themselves and inmates4 7#h7 ,a congressionally authorized digital mail scanning pilot program at the ,federal ,correctional ,institution1 ,beckley1 ,west ,virginia1 and the ,united ,states ,penitentiary1 ,canaan1 ,pennsylvania1 from ,march #bjbj through ,june #bjba1 demonstrated effective interdiction technology and practices aimed at eliminating dangerous contraband arriving through the mail and served as an effective deterrent to smuggling attempts4 7#i7 ,apart from digital mail scanning1 there is no widely deployed interdiction technology that has demonstrated a #ajj percent efficacy to detecting fentanyl1 and other synthetic drugs1 arriving through the mail at ,bureau of ,prisons facilities4 7#aj7 ,removing mail processing from ,federal prisons and relieving ,bureau of ,prisons employees from mail sorting duties will result in an extensive budgetary relief to the ,bureau of ,prisons and decrease the staffing shortages facing prisons4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,bureau of ,prisons4 7#b7 ,opioid ,the term opioid has the meaning given such term in section #ajb of the ,controlled ,substances ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hjb74 7#c7 ,synthetic drug ,the term synthetic drug means a controlled substance analogue 7as such term is defined in section #ajb of the ,controlled ,substances ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hjb771 and includes any analogue of fentanyl4 #d4 ,strategy to interdict synthetic drugs in postal mail 7a7 ,evaluation ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,director shall evaluate-- 7#a7 the acquisition and deployment of synthetic drug interdiction equipment and technology by ,federal correctional facilities2 7#b7 the use of technology services by ,federal correctional facilities to scan mail2 and 7#c7 whether any technologies used by other ,federal agencies or ,state and local corrections facilities to intercept and interdict contraband in the mail may be used by the ,bureau of ,prisons4 7b7 ,strategy ,not later than #ij days after completing the evaluation under subsection 7a71 the ,director shall submit to the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives a strategy to provide all ,federal correctional facilities with capabilities necessary to-- 7#a7 protect staff and inmates from exposure to synthetic drugs and opioids introduced to facilities through the mail2 7#b7 ensure that-- 7,a7 not later than #bd hours after a piece of mail is received at a ,federal corrections facility or an appropriately contracted offsite location1 each inmate receives a digital copy of any mail that is addressed to the inmate2 7,b7 not later than #cj days after receiving a digital copy of a piece of mail under subparagraph 7,a71 the inmate receives the original physical copy of any mail that-- 7i7 does not contain synthetic drugs or opioids2 and 7ii7 is addressed to the inmate2 and 7,c7 delivery to the inmate under subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 is documented2 7#c7 ensure that a process is in place for the processing of legal mail that includes-- 7,a7 the verification of the sender2 and 7,b7 maintains attorney client privilege as required by existing law2 and 7#d7 achieve #ajj percent scanning capacity of mail arriving at all ,federal correction facilities4 7c7 ,contents ,the strategy required under subsection 7b7 shall-- 7#a7 identify critical information technology1 digital mail scanning equipment1 and mail scanning services necessary to achieve the scanning capacity described in subsection 7b77#d72 7#b7 include an assessment of operational and logistical considerations1 including-- 7,a7 prioritization of high security and large inmate population facilities for digital mail scanning infrastructure and security technology deployment2 7,b7 any need for additional personnel and technology training necessary to implement the strategy2 and 7,c7 scanning equipment maintenance requirements and periodic digital technology upgrades2 7#c7 include an equipment and technology budgetary proposal1 for fiscal years #bjbe though #bjbg1 in order to fully implement the strategy described under subsection 7b72 and 7#d7 include strategies for conducting oversight of the contractor providing the scanning service for the mail4 7d7 ,implementation deadline ,not later than #c years after the date on which the strategy is submitted under subsection 7b71 and subject to appropriations1 the ,director of the ,bureau of ,prisons shall complete implementation of the submitted plan4 7e7 ,annual progress reports ,beginning #a year after the date on which the strategy is submitted under subsection 7b71 and each year thereafter1 the ,director of the ,bureau of ,prisons shall submit to the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives a report on the efficiency of the strategy and the total quantity of detected synthetic drugs and opioids4