H.R. 1046: Marc Fischer Memorial Act
Sponsor
Don Bacon
Republican · NE-2
Letters to federal prisoners would arrive as scans first
Why it matters
The bill's findings cite a 600 percent rise in drug overdoses inside prisons and describe inmate mail as a primary route for fentanyl. H.R. 1046 answers with one rule for all 122 federal prisons: every incoming letter gets scanned, the person inside sees a digital copy within 24 hours, and the paper original follows within 30 days if it is clean.
H.R. 1046 is named for Marc Fischer, a corrections officer at USP Canaan in Pennsylvania who died in 2019 after handling inmate mail. It orders the Bureau of Prisons to write and carry out a national plan for stopping fentanyl and other synthetic drugs from entering federal prisons through the post.
Every piece of mail arriving at a federal prison would be scanned, and the person it is addressed to would get a digital copy within 24 hours. The paper original follows within 30 days, but only if it contains no synthetic drugs or opioids. Both handoffs must be documented.
Legal mail is handled separately. The plan must verify who sent it and preserve attorney-client privilege as existing law already requires, so a letter from your lawyer is not supposed to be read the way a letter from your mother is.
The timeline runs in stages. The Bureau gets 180 days to evaluate scanning equipment, contracted scanning services, and any technology other federal, state, or local corrections agencies already use. Ninety days after that, the Director sends the House and Senate Judiciary Committees a strategy that reaches 100 percent scanning at every federal facility, prioritizes high-security and high-population prisons first, and spells out staffing, training, maintenance, and upgrade needs.
The bill carries no money of its own. It requires a budget proposal covering fiscal years 2025 through 2027, and the three-year implementation deadline applies only if Congress appropriates the funds. Once the strategy is filed, the Bureau reports back every year on how the system is performing and how much synthetic drug and opioid material it caught.
The bill's findings point to a pilot at FCI Beckley in West Virginia and USP Canaan that ran from March 2020 through June 2021, which Congress says proved digital scanning works as both an interdiction tool and a deterrent. The findings also claim that taking mail sorting off officers' plates would ease staffing shortages, an argument that would need to survive a real cost estimate.
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Feb 6, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
H.R. 1046 Bill Summary
What H.R. 1046 actually does.
All incoming prison mail gets scanned
The Bureau of Prisons must reach 100 percent scanning capacity for mail arriving at every federal correctional facility, with high-security and large-population prisons equipped first.
Prisoners see a digital copy within 24 hours
Within 24 hours of a letter reaching a prison or a contracted offsite location, the person it is addressed to receives a digital copy. Delivery must be documented.
The paper original arrives within 30 days, if it is clean
Mail that contains no synthetic drugs or opioids must be delivered in its original physical form within 30 days after the digital copy. Mail that tests positive is not delivered.
Legal mail keeps attorney-client protection
The strategy must include a process for verifying the sender of legal mail while maintaining attorney-client privilege as existing law requires.
A 180-day study, then a 90-day plan
The Bureau first evaluates interdiction equipment, scanning services, and technology used by other agencies. Ninety days later, the Director submits a full strategy to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
Three years to build it, but only if funded
The Bureau must finish implementation within three years of submitting the plan, subject to appropriations. The strategy must include a budget proposal for fiscal years 2025 through 2027.
Annual reports on what the scanners catch
Starting one year after the strategy is filed, the Bureau reports every year on how efficiently the system runs and the total quantity of synthetic drugs and opioids detected.
Who benefits from H.R. 1046?
Corrections officers who work the mailroom
The bill's findings say nearly 38,000 Bureau of Prisons employees face rising tainted-mail incidents and are routinely pulled from other posts to sort mail. Offsite or contained scanning is meant to keep officers from handling envelopes that may carry fentanyl.
The more than 150,000 people in federal custody
The bill's findings put the rise in prison drug overdoses at 600 percent in recent years. The stated goal is fewer drugs on the inside. Prisoners would also gain a guaranteed 24-hour window to see their mail, which is faster than many facilities manage today.
Families who write to someone inside
Right now the rules for photos, cards, and letters vary by facility. H.R. 1046 would set a single national standard with documented delivery, so a letter mailed to Beckley is handled the same way as one mailed to Canaan.
Defense attorneys
Legal mail would still be verified, but the bill requires a process that preserves attorney-client privilege while the scanning system is built out.
Who is affected by H.R. 1046?
Prisoners waiting on the paper copy
A letter that used to arrive in a week could take up to 30 days after the digital copy appears. Original artwork, children's drawings, and photographs would be delayed the same way, and anything flagged as containing drugs would not arrive at all.
People sending mail into federal prisons
Your correspondence would be opened, scanned, and stored as an image before it reaches the recipient. The bill does not say how long scanned images are kept or who can view them.
Bureau of Prisons leadership
The Director owns the 180-day evaluation, the 90-day strategy, the three-year build, and the annual reports to both Judiciary Committees, all without new dedicated funding in the bill.
Mailroom staff and scanning contractors
Whoever runs the scanners takes on new logging, tracking, and delivery-documentation duties, plus the training, maintenance, and periodic upgrades the strategy must budget for.
HR1046 Legislative Journey
House: Committee Action
Feb 6, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
About the Sponsor
Don Bacon
Republican, Nebraska's 2nd congressional district · 9 years in Congress
Committees: Agriculture, Armed Services
View full profile →
Cosponsors (135)
This bill has 135 cosponsors: 33 Democrats, 102 Republicans, reflecting bipartisan support. Cosponsors represent 36 states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, and 33 more.
Steven Horsford
Democrat · NV
Barry Moore
Republican · AL
Jared Moskowitz
Democrat · FL
Carol Miller
Republican · WV
Chris Pappas
Democrat · NH
Randy Weber
Republican · TX
Henry Cuellar
Democrat · TX
Ted Lieu
Democrat · CA
Daniel Meuser
Republican · PA
Joe Neguse
Democrat · CO
Monica De La Cruz
Republican · TX
Beth Van Duyne
Republican · TX
Cosponsor Coverage Map
Committee Sponsors
Judiciary Committee
15 of 44 committee members cosponsored
15 Republicans across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 1046 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Judiciary
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Introduced
- Feb 6, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Feb 6, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill page with full text, status, sponsors, cosponsors, and committee actions for H.R. 1046.
The Bureau of Prisons page on how family and friends send mail to people in federal custody, the process H.R. 1046 would route through scanning.
The Bureau policy that currently governs general and special (legal) mail, including the attorney-client protections the bill says must be preserved.
Justice Department watchdog review of how federal prisons intercept drugs and other contraband, including through the mail.
The statute H.R. 1046 cites to define the controlled substances and opioids the scanning strategy targets.
The Pennsylvania penitentiary where Marc Fischer worked and one of the two sites for the 2020-2021 mail scanning pilot cited in the bill.
The West Virginia facility that served as the second pilot site for digital mail scanning cited in the bill findings.
Federal public health overview of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid the bill names as the primary threat entering prisons through the mail.
H.R. 1046 Common Questions
What does H.R. 1046 do to letters sent to federal prisoners?
Every incoming letter is scanned. The prisoner gets a digital copy within 24 hours, and the paper original within 30 days if it contains no synthetic drugs or opioids.
Would prisoners still receive the original paper letter?
Yes, if it is clean. The original must be delivered within 30 days after the digital copy. Mail found to contain synthetic drugs or opioids is not delivered.
Does the scanning rule apply to every federal prison?
Yes. H.R. 1046 requires a strategy that reaches 100 percent scanning of mail at all federal correctional facilities, starting with high-security and large-population prisons.
Would mail from my lawyer be scanned and read?
Legal mail gets its own process. The bill requires the Bureau to verify the sender and preserve attorney-client privilege as existing law already requires.
Who was Marc Fischer?
Marc Fischer was a corrections officer at USP Canaan in Pennsylvania who died in 2019 after handling inmate mail. The bill carries his name; Canaan was later one of two pilot sites for digital mail scanning.
When would prison mail scanning actually start?
Not right away. The Bureau has 180 days to study options, 90 more to send Congress a plan, then up to 3 years to build it. The deadline only binds if Congress funds the work.
How much would H.R. 1046 cost?
The bill does not say and provides no money. It requires a budget proposal for fiscal years 2025 through 2027 covering scanners, contractors, staff, training, and upgrades.
Why does Congress want to scan prison mail?
The bill's findings call inmate mail a primary entry point for fentanyl and cite a 600 percent rise in prison drug overdoses. A 2020-2021 pilot at two prisons is cited as proof that scanning works.
Based on H.R. 1046 bill text
H.R. 1046 Bill Text
“To require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to develop and implement a strategy to interdict fentanyl and other synthetic drugs in the mail at Federal correctional facilities.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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