PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 5, 1997
Prisoner Service Opportunity Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the chief executive officer of a Federal penal or correctional facility, as part of an inmate work program, to provide products or services to private, nonprofit organizations or to State or local governments free of charge or at minimal cost. Requires such products to be constructed through the use of scrap or waste materials that constitute excess property and such services to be used only for the benefit of the recipient. Prohibits such products from being resold or such services from displacing or resulting in a reduction in hours, wages, or employment benefits of any employee of the recipient. Prohibits the provision of goods or services by a Federal penal or correctional facility if such provision would reduce the number of inmates employed at any Federal Prison Industries operations at that facility.
People & committees
Rep. McCollum, Bill [R-FL-8] · R–FL
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.926 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.926 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.926 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.926 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.