H.R. 9986: Read for Reentry Act of 2026

This bill would not directly change prison library rules or create a new prison library program. Instead, it would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study library services in state and federal prisons and report its findings to Congress within one year of enactment.

What the study would look at

• What library services are currently available in state and federal prisons
• Where funding for those libraries and services comes from
• Information about incarcerated people in prisons that offer library services, including age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, education level, criminal background, and length of incarceration
• The recidivism rate for people released from prisons that offer library services
• The parole compliance rate for people released from prisons that offer library services
• Workforce placement outcomes for people released from prisons that offer library services
• The rate of disciplinary infractions in prisons that offer library services
• Any other information the Comptroller General thinks is relevant

What happens next

The GAO would send Congress a report summarizing the results of the study. The bill does not itself require prisons to add, expand, or remove library services, and it does not set new standards for prison libraries. Its main effect would be to gather information that Congress could use later if it wants to consider further action.

Relevant Companies

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