34 U.S.C. § 30306 — National Prison Rape Elimination Commission

(a) Establishment. This section creates a commission called the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, called "the Commission" in this section. (b) Members. The Commission has 9 members. The President appoints 3. The Speaker of the House appoints 2 — unless the Speaker is in the same party as the President, in which case the Speaker appoints 1 and the House minority leader appoints 1. The House minority leader also always gets to appoint 1 more member on top of that. The Senate majority leader appoints 2 — unless the majority leader is in the same party as the President, in which case the majority leader appoints 1 and the Senate minority leader appoints 1. The Senate minority leader also always gets to appoint 1 more member on top of that. Every member must have knowledge or expertise relevant to what the Commission studies. Before appointing anyone, the President, the House Speaker and minority leader, and the Senate majority and minority leader must consult each other, aiming for fair and balanced representation of different viewpoints. Each member serves for as long as the Commission exists. All initial appointments must happen within 60 days of September 4, 2003. A vacancy is filled the same way the original seat was filled, within 60 days of the vacancy happening. (c) Operation. Within 15 days after every member is appointed, the President must name one of them as chairperson. The Commission meets whenever the chairperson calls a meeting, and its first meeting must happen within 30 days after all members are first appointed. A majority of members is a quorum for conducting business, though the Commission can set a smaller quorum just for holding hearings. By majority vote, the Commission can make other rules for its own operations, as long as they don't conflict with this chapter or other law. (d) Comprehensive study of the impacts of prison rape. The Commission must conduct a full legal and factual study of prison rape's effects — covering the toll on prisoners' bodies and minds, medical and social costs, and economic costs — on (A) federal, state, and local governments, and (B) communities and social institutions generally, including individuals, families, and businesses within them. This study must cover fourteen things: existing government policies and practices on preventing, detecting, and punishing prison rape; how prison rape relates to prison conditions, and how well existing monitoring and enforcement address that; the psychological and social causes of prison rape; how much it contributes to spreading sexually transmitted diseases and HIV; what traits are common among inmates likely to commit prison rape, and which treatments or programs reduce that risk; what traits are common among inmates likely to become victims, and which treatments or programs reduce that risk; the broader impact of prison rape on individuals, families, institutions, and the economy, including its contribution to repeat offending and further assault; whether surveillance or undercover work could feasibly reduce prison rape, and at what cost; how prison facility safety, design, and construction relate to the incidence of prison rape; the feasibility and cost of specific prison reform proposals; where more scientific or social-science research on prison rape's prevalence is needed; the relationship between prison rape and prison violence generally; the relationship between prison rape and how well staff are trained, supervised, and disciplined; and how well existing federal and state reporting systems protect confidentiality, ensure impartiality, and prevent retaliation against people who report. No later than 5 years after the Commission's first meeting, it must send a report on this study to the President, Congress, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the chief executive and corrections-department head of every state. That report must include the Commission's findings and conclusions, recommended national standards for reducing prison rape, recommended protocols for preserving evidence and treating victims, and a summary of the materials the Commission relied on. (e) Recommendations. Along with that report, the Commission must give the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services its recommended national standards for detecting, preventing, reducing, and punishing prison rape. These recommendations must cover: how to classify and assign prisoners, using proven tools, to limit prison rape; how prison authorities, police, and prosecutors should investigate and resolve rape complaints; how to preserve physical and witness evidence for investigations; acute trauma care for victims, including both the physical exams and treatment they should receive and the psychological exams, psychiatric care, medication, and counseling they should receive; referrals so victims get long-term follow-up care; education and medical testing to cut HIV transmission; medical measures after a rape to reduce the spread of other sexually transmitted diseases; training correctional staff to understand why eliminating prison rape matters; prompt, thorough investigation of staff sexual misconduct; keeping rape complaints confidential and protecting the inmates who make them; building a reporting system that keeps complaints confidential, shields inmates from retaliation, and ensures complaints are resolved impartially; collecting and reporting data on prison rape, staff sexual misconduct, and how officials and investigators resolved complaints; and any other matters reasonably related to detecting, preventing, reducing, and punishing prison rape. The Commission cannot recommend a standard that would add substantial costs beyond what federal, state, and local prison systems already spend. (f) Consultation with accreditation organizations. In writing its recommended standards, the Commission must consider any standards already developed, or being developed at the same time, and must consult with organizations that accredit federal, state, local, or private prisons and with national corrections-profession associations that have worked on prison rape standards. (g) Hearings. The Commission must hold public hearings, and may hold them at whatever times and places, and take whatever testimony and evidence, it thinks it needs to do its job. Witnesses get paid the same fees paid to witnesses under section 1821 of title 28, funded from the Commission's own budget. (h) Information from Federal or State agencies. The Commission may get information it needs directly from any federal agency, and may ask state or local agency heads to provide information too. (i) Personnel matters. Commission members get travel expenses and per diem while away from home doing Commission work, at the same rates federal employees get. With a two-thirds vote of the Commission, a federal employee can be detailed to work for the Commission without the Commission reimbursing their agency, and without losing any civil service status, benefits, or privileges. At the Commission's request, the Attorney General must provide reasonable office space, supplies, and administrative help. (j) Contracts for research. With a two-thirds vote, the Commission can pick outside researchers and experts to help it, and the National Institute of Justice must then contract with them to pay for their work. The Commission can also contract with other organizations for research it needs. (k) Subpoenas. The Commission may subpoena witnesses and documents. If someone refuses to comply, the Attorney General can ask a federal court to enforce the subpoena. Documents obtained through a subpoena cannot be made public unless two-thirds of the Commission votes to release them. (l) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorized whatever money is necessary to carry out this section. (m) Termination. The Commission ends 60 days after it submits the reports this section requires. (n) Exemption. The Commission does not have to follow chapter 10 of title 5 (the law that normally governs federal advisory committees).