Federal Prison Oversight Act

New definition of 'appropriate congressional committees' expands reporting obligations beyond just the Judiciary Committees to also include the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Medical care language changed from 'gender-appropriate' to 'sex-specific' in the inspection criteria for medical and mental health care.

The exclusion from 'covered facility' changed from excluding State, local, Tribal, or territorial facilities to excluding only post-incarceration residential re-entry centers. This narrows what is excluded and clarifies that re-entry centers fall outside the inspections regime.

The term 'family member' was renamed to 'family advocate' and expanded to include friends of the incarcerated person or their family, not just people related by blood, adoption, marriage, civil union, romantic, or fostering relationships.

The Ombudsman's complaint intake was expanded to accept complaints from representatives of staff, Members of Congress, and members of the judicial branch of the Federal Government, in addition to the previously listed complainants.

A 6-month deadline was added requiring the Inspector General to submit a final report to the Attorney General, congressional committees, employee representative organizations, and the public after completing an inspection.

A new subsection (c) requires the Bureau of Prisons to implement an augmentation directive specified in the joint explanatory statement accompanying Public Law 117-328, effective on the date the Act takes effect.

Record production deadlines were extended: general records changed from 20 to 30 business days, and urgent records (deaths, threats of bodily harm, denial of medical treatment) changed from 5 to 10 business days.

A new exception was added allowing facility heads to restrict Inspector General and Ombudsman access during ongoing events that pose a risk of serious and immediate physical harm to visitors.