,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dcai  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #af     
7legislative day1 ,april #ad71 #bjbf,mr4
 ,schiff 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,hirono1    
,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,welch1 and ,mr4     
,padilla7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a    
,,bill  ,to require an independent      
review process for the prohibition of   
books at ,bureau of ,prisons facilities1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,rehabilitation ,through ,reading ,act  
of #bjbf4  #b4 ,definitions ,in this    
,act3 7#a7 ,director ,the term ,director
 means the ,director of the ,bureau of  
,prisons4  7#b7 ,professional librarian 
,the term professional librarian means a
 librarian who has a master's degree    
from a program accredited by the        
,american ,library ,association4  #c4   
,banned books in prisons  7a7 ,in       
general ,not later than #ij days after  

the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,director shall establish a ,publication
 ,review ,committee for the purpose of  
approving or disapproving the           
availability of books at ,bureau of     
,prisons facilities4  7b7 ,members ,the 
,publication ,review ,committee shall   
consist of not fewer than #e members1   
including the ,ombudsman established    
under section #b of the ,federal ,prison
 ,oversight ,act 7,public ,law #aah-ga71
 #a individual who is a professional    
librarian employed by the ,bureau of    
,prisons1 #a individual in the custody  
of the ,bureau of ,prisons1 and #a      
individual with knowledge or expertise  
in ,first ,amendment law4  7c7          
,procedures  7#a7 ,prohibiting a book   
,following the date of the establishment
 of the ,publication ,review ,committee1
 the ,director may only prohibit a book 
at ,bureau of ,prisons facilities if--  
7,a7 the ,director submits a request in 
writing to the ,publication ,review     
,committee to approve such prohibition1 

including a detailed explanation of the 
reason for prohibiting the book2 and    
7,b7 the ,publication ,review ,committee
 approves such request4  7#b7 ,appeal of
 a prohibited book ,an individual in the
 custody of the ,bureau of ,prisons may 
submit to the ,publication ,review      
,committee an appeal to reverse the     
prohibition of a book in ,bureau of     
,prisons facilities4  7#c7              
,determinations  7,a7 ,in general ,not  
later than #ij days after the date on   
which a request or appeal is submitted  
to the ,publication ,review ,committee  
under paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b71 as        
applicable1 the ,publication ,review    
,committee shall issue a final          
determination in writing approving or   
disapproving the availability of the    
book at ,bureau of ,prisons facilities  
in accordance with subparagraph 7,b74   
7,b7 ,reason for prohibiting a book  7i7
 ,in general ,a book may not be         
prohibited in order to eliminate a      
disfavored viewpoint or disfavored      

content4  7ii7 ,considerations ,in      
determining whether the prohibition of a
 book is based on a disfavored viewpoint
 or disfavored content1 the ,publication
 ,review ,committee shall determine     
whether the prohibition is substantially
 motivated by the viewpoint of the book1
 including if the book is deemed        
unpopular or repugnant1 or otherwise    
violates the rights of incarcerated     
individuals to access information4  7,c7
 ,discretion ,except as provided in     
subparagraph 7,b71 a determination      
issued by the ,publication ,review      
,committee shall be at the discretion of
 the ,publication ,review ,committee and
 shall not require approval from the    
,director4  7#d7 ,maintaining access to 
a book ,if an appeal is filed under     
paragraph 7#b7 prior to the removal of  
the book from any library of any ,bureau
 of ,prisons facility1 the book shall   
not be removed until the ,publication   
,review ,committee has made a final     
determination regarding the appeal4  #d4

 ,annual reporting requirement ,not     
later than #cj days after the end of    
each fiscal year following the date of  
enactment of this ,act1 the ,director   
shall submit to the ,committee on the   
,judiciary of the ,senate and the       
,committee on the ,judiciary of the     
,house of ,representatives an annual    
report detailing any books that were    
prohibited during the preceding fiscal  
year1 including a summary of each appeal
 filed pursuant to section #c7;c77#b7   
and the status and final outcome1 as    
applicable1 of each appeal4