Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003
Latest action · Sep 4, 2003 Became Public Law No: 108-79.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 21, 2003
- Passed SenateJul 21, 2003
- Passed HouseJul 25, 2003
- To the PresidentSep 2, 2003
- Became lawSep 4, 2003Public Law 108-79
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.)
Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 - (Sec. 4) Directs the Bureau of Justice Statistics to carry out, annually, a comprehensive statistical review and analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape. Requires: (1) the review and analysis to be based on a sample of not less than ten percent of all Federal, State, and county prisons, and a representative sample of municipal prisons, that includes at least one prison from each State; and (2) Federal, State, or local officials or facility administrators that receive a request from the Bureau to participate in the national survey and provide access to any inmates under their legal custody.
Establishes within the Department of Justice the Review Panel on Prison Rape to carry out, for each calendar year, public hearings concerning the operation of the three prisons with the highest incidence of prison rape and the two prisons with the lowest incidence in each category of facilities identified. Declares that the purpose of these hearings shall be to collect evidence to aid in the identification of common characteristics of: (1) victims and perpetrators of prison rape; (2) prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape; and and (3) prisons and prison systems that appear to have been successful in deterring prison rape.
Requires the Attorney General to submit an annual report to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Bureau and Panel activities regarding prison rape. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 through 2010.
(Sec. 5) Establishes within the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) a national clearinghouse for the provision of information, assistance, and training to Federal, State, and local authorities for the prevention, investigation, and punishment of prison rape.
(Sec. 6) Directs the Attorney General to make grants to to assist States in ensuring that budgetary circumstances do not compromise efforts to protect inmates and to safeguard the communities to which inmates return. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 through 2010, with a limitation.
(Sec. 7) Establishes the National Prison Rape Reduction Commission to: (1) study the impact of prison rape on Federal, State, and local governments and on communities and social institutions; and (2) report recommended national standards for enhancing the detection, prevention, reduction, and punishment of prison rape.
(Sec. 8) Directs the Attorney General, within one year after receiving such report, to publish a final rule adopting national standards. Provides for a five percent reduction of any amount of grant funds for prisons that a State would otherwise receive for a fiscal year, unless the chief executive of the State submits to the Attorney General: (1) a certification that the State has adopted, and is in full compliance with, the national standards; or (2) an assurance that not less than five percent of such amount shall be used only to enable the State to adopt and achieve full compliance with such standards, so as to ensure that such certification may be submitted in future years. Requires the Attorney General to publish an annual report listing each grantee that is not in compliance with the standards.
(Sec. 9) Prohibits the receipt of Federal grants by penal facility accredication organizations that fail to adopt accreditation standards for the detection, prevention, reduction, and punishment of prison rape.
Cosponsors 4
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jul 21, 2003.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | Jul 21, 2003 |
| D-MA | Edward M. Kennedy | Original | Jul 21, 2003 |
| R-OH | Mike DeWine | Original | Jul 21, 2003 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Jul 21, 2003 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Exchange of letters Oct 29, 2003Exchange of letters Dec 1, 2003Exchange of letters Dec 15, 2003 |
Actions 12
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 4, 2003Signed by President.
- Sep 4, 2003Became Public Law No: 108-79.
- Sep 2, 2003Presented to President.
- Jul 25, 2003Considered by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR H7764-7771)
- Jul 25, 2003Mr. Sensenbrenner asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and consider.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S10032 | Jeff Sessions R-AL | Jul 28, 2003 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S9703 | Edward M. Kennedy D-MA | Jul 22, 2003 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S9659Text printed S9659–S9664 | William H. Frist R-TN | Jul 21, 2003 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 9
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 9
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R40076 | Congressional Commissions: Overview and Considerations for Congress | Report | Jan 21, 2026 |
| IF13087 | Federal Support for Law Enforcement Agencies’ Transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) | Resource | Aug 19, 2025 |
| R47173 | Information Access for Congressional Advisory Commissions | Report | Jul 7, 2022 |
| R45328 | Designing Congressional Commissions: Background and Considerations for Congress | Report | May 2, 2022 |
| R46994 | Proposals for a COVID-19 Congressional Advisory Commission in the 117th Congress: A Comparative Analysis | Report | Dec 20, 2021 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1707 | Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2003 | Related bill | Jul 18, 2003 |
| HR 1765 | Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2003 | Related bill | Apr 22, 2003 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide for the analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape in Federal, State, and local institutions and to provide information, resources, recommendations, and funding to protect individuals from prison rape.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003
- Short Titles as Passed Senate
- Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003
- Short Titles as Enacted
- Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
- Administrative procedure
- AIDS (Disease)
- Architecture
- Arts, Culture, Religion
- Building construction
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Confidential communications
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Continuum of care
- Correctional institutions
- Correctional personnel
- Cost effectiveness
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Crime prevention
- Criminal investigation
- Criminal justice information
- Criminal statistics
- Criminology
- Department of Justice
- Economic impact statements
- Economics and Public Finance
- Employee crimes
- Employee training
- Evidence (Law)
- Executive reorganization
- Federal advisory bodies
- Federal aid to law enforcement
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publicity
- Governmental investigations
- Health
- Health counseling
- Human immunodeficiency viruses
- Identification of criminals
- Informers
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Licenses
- Medical tests
- Mental health services
- Physical examinations
- Preventive medicine
- Prison violence
- Prisoners
- Prisoners' rights
- Prisons
- Prosecution
- Psychotherapy
- Public meetings
- Punishment
- Rape
- Recidivists
- Right of privacy
- Sex crimes
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Social science research
- Standards
- State laws
- Surveys
- Trauma care
- Undercover operations
- Victims of crimes
- Witnesses
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Jul 21, 2003Engrossed in Senate
- Jul 21, 2003Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.