Congress raises pay for prison workers stuck in lowest federal pay tier
S. 2083 — Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act · Filed by Bill Cassidy (R-LA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill raises pay for Bureau of Prisons employees currently classified under the lowest federal pay locality ("Rest of U.S.") by reclassifying them to receive pay rates from the nearest higher-paying locality within 200 miles, or the highest rate available in their region if multiple localities exist nearby. The change applies to both salaried and hourly prison workers and takes effect 180 days after enactment.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a pay-locality reclassification for a named federal workforce. It is a straightforward compensation adjustment with no hidden riders or private-sector carve-outs.
What the text implies
- The 200-mile radius rule may create uneven pay outcomes across the federal prison system, with employees in rural areas near higher-cost metros receiving raises while those in truly remote locations remain at Rest of U.S. rates.
- Increased payroll costs for the Bureau of Prisons may require budget reallocation or supplemental appropriations; the bill does not specify a funding source.
- The provision allowing employees to be paid at the 'highest applicable wage schedule' in multi-locality regions could incentivize clustering of prison facilities in higher-cost areas or create pressure to reclassify facility locations.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill directly increases compensation for a specific class of federal workers (Bureau of Prisons employees) without cutting services, raising taxes on the general public, or creating new liabilities. Prison workers in lower-cost areas gain material wage increases, improving their economic security and potentially reducing turnover in a critical public-safety workforce.
Who stands to gain
- Bureau of Prisons employees in Rest of U.S. pay localities
Named in the bill
Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (implied), Title 5 USC (federal pay schedules)
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Jun 12, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jun 12, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,485 characters) on Aug 15, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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