Prison Libraries Act of 2026
Latest action · Jan 27, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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.
- IntroducedJan 27, 2026
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Prison Libraries Act of 2026
This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program to provide library services for incarcerated individuals.
Cosponsors 42
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 27, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026, with 21 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-LA | Cleo Fields | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-GA | David Scott | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-HI | Ed Case | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-WA | Emily Randall | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-TX | Jasmine Crockett | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-TX | Julie Johnson | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-NJ | LaMonica McIver | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-CA | Lateefah Simon | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-FL | Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-OH | Shontel M. Brown | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-MI | Shri Thanedar | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-PA | Summer L. Lee | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-AL | Terri A. Sewell | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-NC | Valerie P. Foushee | Original | Jan 27, 2026 |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Mar 17, 2026 | |
| R-NE | Don Bacon | Mar 17, 2026 | |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Mar 24, 2026 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Apr 20, 2026 | |
| D-DE | Sarah McBride | Apr 20, 2026 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | May 12, 2026 | |
| D-CA | Sydney Kamlager-Dove | Jun 3, 2026 | |
| D-IL | Delia C. Ramirez | Jun 4, 2026 | |
| D-CA | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Jun 4, 2026 | |
| D-CA | Raul Ruiz | Jun 4, 2026 | |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Jun 23, 2026 | |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Jun 23, 2026 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Jun 23, 2026 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Jun 23, 2026 | |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Jun 24, 2026 | |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Jul 13, 2026 | |
| D-WA | Rick Larsen | Jul 13, 2026 | |
| D-IL | Jonathan L. Jackson | Jul 20, 2026 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Jul 20, 2026 | |
| D-LA | Troy A. Carter | Oct 22, 2026 | |
| D-MO | Wesley Bell | Oct 22, 2026 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 27, 2026Introduced in House
- Jan 27, 2026Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 4320 | Prison Libraries Act of 2026 | Related bill | Apr 16, 2026 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 27, 2026Introduced in House
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.