Use this form to urge your lawmakers to cosponsor the Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act.

Chronic understaffing, mandatory overtime, 16-hour shifts, and exhausted officers define daily life inside federal prisons. This is not sustainable, and it is not safe. Officers are leaving in record numbers, recruitment is failing, and institutions are operating on the edge of crisis. The reason is simple: Bureau of Prisons correctional officers are the lowest-paid federal law enforcement officers in the United States.

The Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act is the solution.

This legislation establishes a 35% base pay adjustment for BOP correctional employees. This is not a raise—it is a long-overdue correction to a broken pay system that has not been meaningfully updated since the 1970s. While other federal law enforcement agencies have received modern pay structures, career ladders, and competitive compensation, BOP officers have been left behind.

Pay is a safety issue. When staffing levels are dangerously low and officers are forced to work excessive hours, the risk of assaults, escapes, and critical incidents increases. Burnout drives resignations, vacancies deepen, and the cycle continues.

Congress cannot ignore this any longer. If lawmakers are serious about public safety, institutional security, and retaining experienced law enforcement professionals, they must support and pass the Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act.