The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday night by a nearly unanimous vote to create independent oversight of the scandal-ridden federal prison system.
By a vote of 392-2, the House passed the Federal Prison Oversight Act, a bill introduced by Reps. Lucy McBath (D–Ga.) and Kelly Armstrong (R–N.D.) that would require the Department of Justice's inspector general to conduct detailed inspections of each of the 122 facilities in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) system, and, more significantly, create an independent Justice Department ombudsman to investigate complaints from inmates and staff.
