United States Government Accountability Office

Report to Congressional Requesters

December 2013

BUREAU OF
PRISONS
Opportunities Exist to
Enhance the
Transparency of
Annual Budget
Justifications

GAO-14-121

December 2013

BUREAU OF PRISONS
Opportunities Exist to Enhance the Transparency of
Annual Budget Justifications
Highlights of GAO-14-121, a report to
congressional requesters

Why GAO Did This Study

What GAO Found

BOP, a component of DOJ, is
responsible for the custody and care of
over 219,000 federal inmates—a
population that has grown by 27
percent over the past decade. BOP
had a fiscal year 2013 operating
budget of about $6.5 billion, and BOP
projects that its costs will increase as
the federal prison population grows.
According to officials, BOP’s biggest
challenge is managing the increasing
federal inmate population, and related
responsibilities, within budgeted levels.
Generally, BOP is appropriated funds
through two accounts: S&E and B&F.
To prepare its annual congressional
budget justification for DOJ, BOP
estimates its costs and resource
requirements and sends its requested
amounts to DOJ. GAO was asked to
review BOP’s budget justifications.

The largest account in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) budget justification—its Salaries and Expenses (S&E) account— is
composed mainly of costs associated with Inmate Care and Programs and
Institution Security and Administration, both of which have grown steadily since
2008. This growth is due predominantly to increases in prison populations, which
are the primary cost driver of BOP’s budget. The other two program, project and
activity (PPA) elements in the S&E account are associated with the care and
custody of federal offenders in contract facilities and maintenance and
administration. BOP’s Buildings and Facilities (B&F) account, which makes up on
average less than 3 percent of its budget, pays for costs associated with site
planning; acquisition; and construction of new facilities and costs of remodeling
and renovating existing facilities, and related costs. In fiscal year 2014, the
budget justification reflected a total of $6.9 billion; of which over 95 percent ($6.8
billion) was for BOP’s S&E account. BOP also provides narrative summaries of
its initiatives, services, and organizational units in categories and subcategories
under each PPA. BOP officials said that they include these narrative descriptions
to provide additional information to congressional decision makers.

This report (1) identifies the types of
costs that compose BOP’s budget
accounts as presented in its budget
justifications, and (2) assesses the
extent to which opportunities exist to
enhance the transparency of
information in BOP’s budget
justifications for congressional
stakeholders and decision makers.
GAO analyzed DOJ and BOP budget
justification documents for fiscal years
2008 through 2014 and interviewed
officials to determine how they develop
budget justifications.

What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that the Attorney
General consult with congressional
decision makers on providing
additional BOP funding detail in future
budget justifications, and in conjunction
with BOP, take action as appropriate.
DOJ concurred.
View GAO-14-121. For more information,
contact David C. Maurer at (202) 512-9627 or
maurerd@gao.gov.

GAO found that BOP is collecting more detailed quantitative cost data on the
components that constitute each PPA, which could be useful to congressional
decision makers when reviewing BOP’s budget justification. In accordance with
departmental and Office of Management and Budget guidance, BOP’s budget
justifications summarize amounts by PPA, so BOP is not required to provide
additional funding data below the PPA level in its budget justification. Providing
this information to Congress could help clarify what BOP proposes to spend on
specific categories and subcategories reflected in its budget justification. For
example, BOP’s budget justification for fiscal year 2014 included $2.5 billion for
the Inmate Care and Programs PPA element and included narrative information
for categories such as Medical Services, Food Service, Education and Vocational
Training, Psychology Services, and Religious Services, as well as narrative
summaries for various subcategories. However the budget justification did not
include proposed funding amounts for each of these categories. GAO’s analysis
shows that this additional information can be useful in identifying trends and cost
drivers that may affect future costs. For example, GAO’s analysis identified
variations in the dollar amounts associated with the cost components that
constitute the PPA, such as drug abuse treatment and education, which could
affect decision making for that PPA. However, BOP’s current budget justification
does not include this detail. Congressional decision makers have previously
requested additional information about BOP’s budget presentations and data
below the PPA level. BOP’s budget requests for its S&E account have increased
33 percent since fiscal year 2008, which makes transparency in its budget
justifications even more crucial. Consulting with congressional decision makers
to determine if it would be helpful to include in its budget justifications the
additional cost information that DOJ already collects would help provide
reasonable assurance that BOP is fully meeting congressional decision makers’
needs and would enhance the transparency of its budget justifications.
United States Government Accountability Office

Contents

Letter

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

1
Background
Institution Security and Inmate Care Constitute the Majority of
BOP’s Salaries and Expenses Account Costs as Presented in Its
Budget Justifications
BOP Could Enhance the Transparency of Its Budget Justification
by Providing Additional Data on Cost Components within the
Program, Project, and Activity Levels
Conclusions
Recommendation for Executive Action
Agency Comments

5

16
27
27
28

Dollar Amounts Associated with Bureau of Prisons’ Budget
Request Financial Management Information System (FMIS)
Data Fields for Inmate Care and Programs

30

Narrative Summaries for Institution Security and
Administration, Inmate Care and Programs, and Contract
Confinement in the Bureau of Prisons’ Fiscal Year 2014
Budget Justification

31

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

35

Table 1: Proposed Improvements and Offsets in the Bureau of
Prisons’ (BOP) Inmate Care and Programs and Institution
Security and Administration Programs, Projects, and
Activities Elements for Fiscal Year 2014

14

9

Table

Figures
Figure 1: Formulation of the Federal Budget Process and Roles of
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department
of Justice (DOJ), and Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

Page i

6

GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Figure 2: President’s Budget Requests for Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP)
Salaries and Expenses Account for Fiscal Years 2008
through 2014
Figure 3: The President’s Budget Request for the Bureau of Prisons’
(BOP) Salaries and Expenses Account by Program,
Project, or Activity Elements for Fiscal Year 2014
Figure 4: Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Budget Justification by
Program, Project, and Activity Element for Salaries and
Expenses Account for Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014
Figure 5: Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Budget Justification Structure
Figure 6: Categories in the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Budget
Justification for Fiscal Year 2014 for Inmate Care and
Programs and Institution Security and Administration
Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Elements Compared
with Cost Center Data Fields in the Department of
Justice’s (DOJ) Financial Management Information
System (FMIS)
Figure 7: Changes in Dollar Amounts Associated with Bureau of
Prisons’ (BOP) Financial Management Information
System (FMIS) Data Fields for the Inmate Care and
Programs’ Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) from
Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014.
Figure 8: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons’
(BOP) Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Institution
Security and Administration Program, Project, and
Activity (PPA) Element with Funding Amounts Associated
with Data Fields in the Financial Management
Information System (FMIS)
Figure 9: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons’
(BOP) Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Inmate
Care and Programs Program, Project, and Activity (PPA)
Element with Funding Amounts Associated with Data
Fields in the Financial Management Information System
(FMIS)
Figure 10: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons’
(BOP) Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Contract
Confinement Program, Project, and Activity (PPA)
Element with Funding Amounts Associated with Data
Fields in the Financial Management Information System
(FMIS)

Page ii

10
11
13
15

19

21

23

24

25

GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Abbreviations
AOE
B&F
BOP
CCC
CRS
DOJ
DRI
ESL
FLETC
FMIS
FPI
HSD
ICE
ICT
JMD
M&A
NCA
NIC
OMB
PPA
RDAP
RRC
S&E
STA
USPHS
VA
VCCLEA

advanced occupational education
Buildings and Facilities
Bureau of Prisons
community corrections contracting
Congressional Research Service
Department of Justice
Dietary Reference Intakes
English as a Second Language
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Financial Management Information System
Federal Prison Industries, Inc.
Health Services Division
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Introduction to Correctional Techniques
Justice Management Division
Management and Administration
National Corrections Academy
National Institute of Corrections
Office of Management and Budget
program, project, and activity
Residential Drug Abuse Program
Residential Reentry Centers
Salaries and Expenses
Staff Training Academy
U.S. Public Health Service
Department of Veterans Affairs
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

441 G St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20548

December 6, 2013
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is
responsible for the custody and care of over 219,000 federal inmates—a
population that has grown by 27 percent over the past decade. BOP is
composed of 119 institutions, 6 regional offices, 2 staff training centers,
22 residential reentry management offices (previously called community
corrections offices), and a central office in Washington, D.C. With a fiscal
year 2013 operating budget of about $6.5 billion—the second-largest
budget within DOJ—BOP projects that its costs will increase as the
federal prison population grows through 2018. 1 According to BOP
officials, BOP’s biggest challenge is managing the continually increasing
federal inmate population, and providing for inmates’ care and safety, as
well as the safety of BOP staff and surrounding communities, within
budgeted levels. A variety of factors contribute to the size of BOP’s
population. These include national crime levels, law enforcement policies,
and federal sentencing laws, all of which are beyond BOP’s control. 2
The federal budget process provides the means for the President and
Congress to decide how much money to spend and what to spend it on.
The process begins when federal agencies develop budget requests to
be considered in the development of the President’s budget request to
Congress and, as applicable, provide the budget requests through their
respective departments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
In support of the President’s budget request, departments also submit
congressional budget justifications to the appropriate appropriations
committees, typically to provide additional information regarding the
changes between the current appropriation and the amounts requested

1

These projections are from BOP’s 2020 capacity plan dated January 10, 2010. BOP’s
2020 long-range capacity plan projected continued growth in the federal prison population
from fiscal years 2012 through 2020, with system-wide crowding exceeding 45 percent
through 2018. For more information, see GAO, Bureau of Prisons: Growing Inmate
Crowding Negatively Affects Inmates, Staff, and Infrastructure, GAO-12-743 (Washington,
D.C.: Sept.12, 2012). According to BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification, as the
inmate population continues to increase, BOP projects a continued increase in required
resources to provide for safe inmate incarceration and care, and the safety of BOP staff
and the surrounding communities. Residential reentry management offices identify a need
for residential reentry center (i.e., halfway house) services in a specific area and
administer contract services related to the centers’ operations.
2

GAO-12-743.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

for the next fiscal year. 3 OMB provides general guidance to federal
agencies and ensures that budget requests are consistent with relevant
statutes and presidential objectives. 4 DOJ also provides annual
department-specific guidance to its component agencies for submitting
budget justifications.
We previously evaluated the budget justifications of other agencies to
assess, for example, whether the budget justifications are presented so
that agency priorities are clear and the proposed use of funds is
transparent. 5 In conducting these evaluations, we identified opportunities
for federal agencies to improve information on program costs and results
that could aid congressional stakeholders in resource decision making
and program oversight. 6 In addition, we reported on various aspects of
BOP’s budget and operations. For example, in November 2009, we found
that BOP faced funding gaps in its operations account that left it with
limited management flexibility. 7 We also found that while BOP had sound
cost estimation practices, the agency could improve the transparency and
documentation of its budget development process. 8 Specifically, we
recommended that BOP (1) analyze the extent to which operations costs
could vary because of changes in key cost assumptions and (2) improve
documentation of calculations used to estimate its costs. BOP concurred
with the recommendations and procured the services of a consulting

3

See GAO, A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, GAO-05-743SP
(Washington, D.C.: September 2005).
4

Office of Management and Budget, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the
Budget, OMB Circular No. A-11.
5

For example, see GAO, Veterans’ Health Care Budget: Transparency and Reliability of
Some Estimates Supporting President’s Request Could Be Improved, GAO-12-689
(Washington, D.C.: June 11, 2012); Internal Revenue Service: Assessment of Budget
Justification for Fiscal Year 2011 Identified Opportunities to Enhance Transparency,
GAO-10-687R (Washington, D.C.: May 26, 2010); Army Corps of Engineers: Budget
Formulation Process Emphasizes Agencywide Priorities, but Transparency of Budget
Presentation Could Be Improved, GAO-10-453 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 2, 2010).
6

For example, see GAO, IRS 2013 Budget: Continuing to Improve Information on
Program Costs and Results Could Aid in Resource Decision Making, GAO-12-603
(Washington, D.C.: June 8, 2012).

7

GAO, Bureau of Prisons: Methods for Cost Estimation Largely Reflect Best Practices, but
Quantifying Risks Would Enhance Decision Making, GAO-10-94 (Washington, D.C.: Nov.
10, 2009).
8

GAO-10-94.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

company to conduct the analysis. In September 2011, and subsequently
in March and July 2012, BOP transmitted the results of the analysis to
DOJ and OMB to support preparation of the 2013 and 2014 budget
justifications, which fully addressed our recommendation. BOP also took
action to improve the documentation of its budget cost estimation
methods. In August 2010, we met with BOP budget officials to review
their fiscal year 2011 budget justification documentation and found BOP’s
calculations and results to be well documented. 9
Growth in the federal inmate population and its effect on BOP’s budget is
a matter of continuing congressional interest. For example, in the
conference report for the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2012, 10 congressional decision makers expressed
concern that the current upward trend in the prison inmate population was
unsustainable. 11 You asked us to review BOP’s budget justifications. This
report (1) identifies the types of costs that compose BOP’s budget
accounts as presented in its budget justifications, and (2) assesses the
extent to which opportunities exist to enhance the transparency of
information in BOP’s budget justifications for congressional stakeholders
and decision makers.
To identify the types of costs that compose BOP’s budget accounts, we
reviewed DOJ and BOP budget justification documents, budget and
performance summaries and accompanying budget exhibits for fiscal
years 2008 through 2014, as well as the standards and guidance for
developing budget information and leading practices for developing
program costs outlined in GAO’s Cost Estimating and Assessment
Guide. 12 Generally, BOP is appropriated funds through two accounts:

9

GAO-10-94. GAO closed these recommendations as implemented.

10

Pub. L. No. 112-55, 125 Stat. 552 (2011).

11

H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 112-284, at 241 (2011).

12
Office of Management and Budget, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the
Budget, OMB Circular No. A-11; Department of Justice, Memorandum for Heads of
Department Components, Guidance for Preparing Fiscal Year 2013 Budgets (Washington,
D.C.: May 23, 2011); and GAO, GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best
Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs, GAO-09-3SP
(Washington, D.C.: March 2009). GAO’s Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide is a
compilation of cost-estimating best practices drawn from across industry and government.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Salaries and Expenses (S&E) and Buildings and Facilities (B&F). 13
Because BOP’s S&E account generally represents over 95 percent of
BOP’s budget, we focused our review on the S&E account. Moreover, we
selected 2008 as the starting point for our analysis because BOP began
using a consistent format for presenting information on its programs,
projects, and activities (PPA) in its 2008 budget justification.
To assess the extent to which opportunities exist to enhance the
transparency of information in BOP’s budget justifications, we obtained
and analyzed the cost component funding information that composed
three of BOP’s four PPAs for the S&E account—Inmate Care and
Programs, Institution Security and Administration, and Contract
Confinement PPAs. 14 Specifically, we identified the changes in dollar
amounts associated with these cost components for fiscal years 2008
through 2014. BOP’s fourth PPA—Management and Administration
(M&A)—constituted about 3 percent of the total amount requested for
fiscal years 2008 through 2014; thus, we focused our analysis on the
three PPAs that constituted the largest amount of funds requested. Our
report in November 2009 included an assessment of the reliability of
information that BOP officials gathered from DOJ’s Financial
Management Information System (FMIS) and concluded that the data
were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of the review. 15 To assess the
reliability of FMIS data, we interviewed BOP budget officials who said no
changes were made to FMIS or data gathered from this system since
fiscal year 2009; thus we determined that the data were sufficiently

13

The S&E account includes annual and multiyear appropriations, while the B&F account
includes no-year appropriations. No-year appropriation is budget authority that remains
available for obligation for an indefinite period of time. In addition, BOP is responsible for a
Trust Fund account that receives spending authority from offsetting collections for revenue
earned through the sale of goods and services. According to BOP’s 2012 financial audit,
Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI)—also called UNICOR—is a separate reporting
component of DOJ. FPI employs and provides job skills training to federal inmates. We did
not include the Trust Fund and FPI budget accounts in our review because they are nonappropriated accounts.

14

According to BOP officials, they use the cost data they maintain in DOJ’s Financial
Management Information System to develop estimated dollar amounts for the cost
components that compose BOP’s PPAs.

15

GAO-10-94. FMIS supports DOJ components’ financial management requirements.
FMIS includes various modules to support the financial and administrative requirements of
DOJ’s components. BOP officials said that they use FMIS to maintain BOP’s historical
cost and budget data.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

reliable for the purposes of this review. We also interviewed officials in
DOJ’s Justice Management Division (JMD) and budget officials in BOP’s
Administration Division and Budget Development and Execution branches
to discuss their approach for developing and presenting information in the
budget justification. Specifically, we discussed with DOJ officials the
guidance they provided to components for developing budget
justifications. We discussed with BOP officials the type of funding
information and financial management systems used to develop their
budget justifications.
We conducted this performance audit from February 2013 to December
2013 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings
and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Background
Overview of Federal
Budget Process and BOP
Budget Development

Through the budget system, the President and Congress determine the
allocation of resources among the agencies of the federal government.
OMB, as part of the Executive Office of the President, guides the annual
budget process, makes decisions on executive agencies’ budgets,
aggregates submissions for departmental components, and submits the
consolidated document for the executive branch as the President’s
Budget Request to Congress. OMB issues guidance to federal agencies
through OMB Circular A-11, which provides instructions for submitting
budget data and materials, as well as criteria for developing budget
justifications. 16 Within DOJ, the Justice Management Division issues
additional annual budget development guidance to DOJ’s components,
including BOP, usually about 1.5 years before the fiscal year begins for
the budget cycle. JMD budget staff (1) collect and analyze all of the
components’ budget requests, taking into consideration department-wide
policy priorities and OMB guidance; (2) coordinate with DOJ policy

16

Office of Management and Budget, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the
Budget, OMB Circular No. A-11.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

offices; and (3) secure approval and submit the Attorney General’s
budget submission to OMB. Key steps in this process are shown in
figure 1.
Figure 1: Formulation of the Federal Budget Process and Roles of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Bureau of
Prisons (BOP)

Note: JMD is DOJ’s Justice Management Division.

When developing its budget justification, BOP estimates costs for budget
accounts using three steps, as described below.
•

First, BOP estimates cost increases for maintaining the current level
of services for operations as provided in the prior year’s enacted
budget. These include costs to address mandatory staff pay raises

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

and benefit increases, inmate medical care, and utilities. BOP
analyzes historical obligations from the past 5 years to identify
average annual operating cost increases. BOP records its obligations
in FMIS—one of DOJ’s financial accounting and reporting systems.
According to BOP officials, FMIS is BOP’s primary tool for cost
reporting and budget execution. 17 BOP also considers economic
indicator information to estimate general inflationary cost increases
using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index,
among other sources.
Second, BOP projects inmate population changes for the budget year
and for 9 years into the future. 18 For example, for the fiscal year 2014
budget justification, BOP projected a net growth in its inmate
population of 5,400 (2.4 percent) for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. 19
Third, BOP estimates costs to house the projected number of new
inmates, including building and facility requirements. According to
BOP, the increasing inmate population is the primary driver of new
service costs. BOP also identifies and estimates costs for new
initiatives, such as the opening of a new BOP facility, by reviewing the
proposals submitted by its divisions and regional offices, as well as
historical data on costs for implementing such initiatives.

•

•

Prior GAO work on BOP
Costs and Budget
Justification Reviews

In November 2009, we found that BOP’s methods for cost estimation
largely reflected best practices outlined in the GAO Cost Estimating and
Assessment Guide. 20 We concluded that for fiscal year 2008, BOP
followed a well-defined process for developing a mostly comprehensive,
well-documented, accurate, and credible cost estimate, and we made

17

FMIS supports BOP’s financial management requirements. FMIS includes various
modules to support the financial and administrative requirements of DOJ’s components.

18
BOP uses a calculation model to identify the number of inmates currently in BOP’s
system and the length of those inmates’ sentences, as well as the number of inmates
estimated to enter the BOP system and the length of their sentences. Using this model,
BOP identifies each inmate as a unique record tied to variables such as conviction year,
sentence term, and conviction type, with data obtained from a variety of sources, including
the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. .
19

According to BOP officials, after the budget was submitted they revised the projected
inmate growth based on their current estimate of 3,200 for fiscal year 2014, which is equal
to a 1.4 percent change in inmate population.

20

GAO-09-3SP

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

recommendations to further improve BOP’s process. 21 Specifically, we
recommended that BOP (1) analyze the extent to which operations costs
could vary because of changes in key cost assumptions and (2) improve
documentation of calculations used to estimate its costs. BOP concurred
with the recommendations and took appropriate actions to address them
as noted above. In November 2009, we also reported on various
challenges that BOP faced, including prison crowding levels. For
example, we found that from fiscal years 2000 through 2009, BOP’s total
inmate population level increased by 44 percent—from 145,125 to
209,027. 22 In November 2009, we also reported that BOP estimated its
total inmate population would continue to increase by about 4,500
inmates per year over the next decade. 23 In September 2012, we
reviewed the growth in BOP’s population and found that the 9.5 percent
population growth from fiscal years 2006 through 2011 exceeded the 7
percent increase in its inmate capacity, and reported that BOP projects
continued population growth. 24
In our work related to budget reviews across the federal government, we
have reported that an agency’s budget justification may be the single
most important policy document because it depicts and reconciles policy
objectives, and we have identified the potential to enhance the
transparency of agencies’ budget justifications by providing additional
details and information. 25 For example, in our September 2012 review of
the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) health care budget, we
concluded that federal agencies’ congressional budget justifications
should be transparent—that is, they should be clear and easy to
understand—in part because Congress relies on this information to make
resource allocation decisions and conduct oversight. 26 Further, we

21

GAO-10-94.

22

According to BOP officials, the revised total inmate population for fiscal year 2009 was
208,759.

23

According to BOP officials, they have revised their projected annual increase in total
inmate population to about 3,000 inmates per year over the next 10-year period.

24

GAO-12-743.

25

GAO-10-687R.

26

GAO, Veterans’ Health Care Budget: Better Labeling of Services and More Detailed
Information Could Improve the Congressional Budget Justification, GAO-12-908
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 18, 2012).

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

concluded that in order to facilitate decision making, information needs to
be clear and organized in a way that is meaningful to decision makers.
We recommended, among other things, that VA further consult with
congressional decision makers to determine what detailed information
related to its appropriations accounts should be included—and how—in
its congressional budget justification. VA concurred with the
recommendations and has begun taking actions to address them.

Institution Security
and Inmate Care
Constitute the
Majority of BOP’s
Salaries and Expenses
Account Costs as
Presented in Its
Budget Justifications

BOP’s largest account—its S&E account— is composed mainly of costs
associated with Inmate Care and Programs and Institution Security and
Administration, both of which have grown steadily since 2008,
predominantly because of increases in prison populations, which are the
primary cost driver of BOP’s budget. 27 The other two PPAs in the S&E
account are associated with the care and custody of federal offenders in
contract facilities and maintenance and administration. 28 BOP’s budget
justification for fiscal year 2014 reflected the President’s budget request
of a total of $6.9 billion, including $6.8 billion for its S&E account. 29 Figure
2 shows that the President’s budget request for BOP’s S&E account has
increased from fiscal years 2008 through 2014. 30

27

According to OMB, cost drivers are those variables that, when changed in value, create
the greatest changes in cost. Office of Management and Budget, Capital Planning Guide,
Supplement to OMB Circular No. A-11: Planning, Budgeting, and Acquisition of Capital
Assets (July 2013).

28

BOP’s B&F account, which makes up on average less than 3 percent of its budget, pays
for costs associated with site planning; acquisition; and construction of new facilities and
costs of remodeling, renovating, and equipping existing facilities for penal and correctional
use. BOP’s S&E account on average makes up more than 95 percent of its budget.

29

The President’s 2014 budget request also included $105 million for BOP’s B&F account.

30

According to our analysis of the President’s budget request for BOP, the S&E account
increased slightly from $6,820,217,000 for fiscal year 2013 to $6,831,150,000 for fiscal
year 2014.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Figure 2: President’s Budget Requests for Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Salaries and
Expenses Account for Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014

Note: The dollar amounts are rounded to the nearest $0.1billion.

BOP’s budget justification includes its proposed use of funds for each
account by PPA. 31 BOP’s budget for S&E costs consists of four PPAs,
and as shown in figure 3, the Inmate Care and Programs PPA, and
Institution Security and Administration PPA, and Contract Confinement
PPA accounted for about 97 percent of the President’s 2014 budget
request for BOP’s S&E account, according to BOP’s budget justification.

31

OMB and GAO define “program, project, or activity” as an element within a budget
account. For budgetary purposes, DOJ uses the term “decision units” to refer to PPAs.
BOP’s budget justification also includes summary cost information for each account by
object classification, such as personnel compensation, supplies and materials, and
equipment. The B&F account has two PPA elements: (1) New Construction funding to
expand existing facilities and acquire or construct new prison facilities, and (2)
Modernization and Repair funding to keep existing facilities in an adequate state of repair
to provide a safe and secure environment to continue prison operations.

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Figure 3: The President’s Budget Request for the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Salaries
and Expenses Account by Program, Project, or Activity Elements for Fiscal Year
2014

Below is a description of the four PPAs that compose BOP’s S&E
account.
•

The Inmate Care and Programs PPA covers the operational costs of
functions directly related to providing inmate care, including inmate
food, medical care, drug treatment, and psychological services;
education and vocational training; institutional and release clothing;
welfare service; and transportation. For example, the budget
justification for fiscal year 2014 proposes the use of funds to help
address increases in chronic medical care for inmates. Additionally,
the budget justification for fiscal year 2014 proposes the use of funds
to expand evidence-based treatment practices to treat drug offenders
and reduce recidivism. 32

32

BOP’s Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) is an evidence-based treatment
program intended to treat drug offenders and reduce recidivism. RDAP requires inmates
to identify, confront, and alter the attitudes, values, and thinking patterns that lead to
criminal and drug-using behavior.

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•

•

•

The Institution Security and Administration PPA covers costs
associated with institution security, administration, maintenance, and
staff training. 33 These costs include salaries for correctional officers
assigned to every BOP institution and expenses for facility
maintenance and utilities.
The Contract Confinement PPA covers costs associated with BOP
inmates in contract care and costs associated with management and
oversight of contract facilities and residential reentry centers as well
as the National Institute of Corrections. 34
The Management and Administration PPA covers costs associated
with general administration and provides funding for the executive
staff as well as headquarters and regional office program managers in
the areas of budget development and execution, financial
management, procurement and property management, human
resource management, inmate systems management, safety, legal
counsel, research and evaluation, and systems support.

As shown in figure 4, while the amounts reflected for BOP’s Management
and Administration PPA have remained relatively constant, the Inmate
Care and Programs and Institution Security and Administration PPAs, and
to a lesser extent the Contract Confinement PPA, have grown steadily

33

All institutions are assigned a security classification level based in part on the physical
design of each facility. There are four security levels: minimum, low, medium, and high.
Additionally, there is an administrative category for institutions that house a variety of
specialized populations such as pretrial, medical, mental health, sex offender, and U.S.
Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
detainees.

34

In fiscal year 2013, BOP reported that 19 percent of the inmate population was housed
outside of BOP facilities in alternative confinement, including private prisons, Residential
Reentry Centers (RRC or halfway houses), state and local facilities, and home detention.
BOP’s National Institute of Corrections provides training, technical assistance, information
services, and policy and program development assistance to federal, state, and local
correctional agencies.

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since 2008, predominantly because of increases in prison populations
which are the primary cost driver of BOP’s budget. 35
Figure 4: Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Budget Justification by Program, Project, and
Activity Element for Salaries and Expenses Account for Fiscal Years 2008 through
2014

In addition to the budget justification broken down by PPA dollar amounts,
the budget justification provides a summary of increases (i.e.,
improvements) and decreases (i.e., offsets) to the current year’s
35

The President’s budget request for BOP for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 reflects that
BOP officials incorporated Management and Administration costs into the other PPA
elements in the S&E and B&F accounts. In fiscal year 2010, officials reverted to the
historical approach of reflecting M&A costs as a separate PPA element in response to
congressional and OMB guidance. For the purposes of our analysis and to more clearly
illustrate trends in BOP’s budget, we prorated the M&A costs for these 2 fiscal years (2008
and 2009) to approximate the dollars associated with the M&A PPA element for those
years. BOP officials agreed that the prorated allocation effectively approximated the
dollars associated with M&A for those years.

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appropriation. 36 For example, in BOP’s budget justification for fiscal year
2014, BOP described the $35.1 million net increase (1.2 percent) in the
Institution Security and Administration PPA from fiscal year 2013 in terms
of three increases and two decreases, as shown in table 1. Further, BOP
described the dollar amounts associated with the $1.7 million (0.07
percent) net increase in the Inmate Care and Programs PPA from fiscal
year 2013 in terms of five increases and two decreases.
Table 1: Proposed Improvements and Offsets in the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP)
Inmate Care and Programs and Institution Security and Administration Programs,
Projects, and Activities Elements for Fiscal Year 2014
Salaries

Expenses

Institution Security and Administration

$2,995,794,000

Net Program Improvements and Offsets
1.

+$35,134,000

Improvement: Open Administrative United

States Penitentiary Thompson, IL

+$28,504,000

2.

Improvement: Open Facility Hazelton, WV

+$15,910,000

3.

Improvement: Open Facility Yazoo City, MS

+$17,406,000

4.

Offset: Good Conduct Time

5.

Offset: Information Technology Savings

a

-$22,455,000
-$4,231,000

Inmate Care and Programs

$2,509,802,000

Net Program Improvements and Offsets

+$1,738,000

1.

Improvement: Open Administrative Thomson, IL

2.

Improvement: Open Facility Hazelton, WV

3.

Improvement: Open Facility Yazoo City, MS

+$11,015,000

4.

Improvement: Expand Residential Drug Abuse Treatment

+$15,000,000

5.

Improvement: Expand Reentry/Recidivism Reducing Programs

+$20,000,000

a

+$15,196,000
+$9,072,000

6.

Offset: Good Conduct Time

-$18,545,000

7.

Offset: Medical Cost Adjustments

-$50,000,000

Source: GAO analysis of BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification.

36
According to BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification, budget offsets reflect
management actions to streamline operations, improve program efficiencies, and reduce
costs to ensure the lowest possible costs despite the growing inmate population.
According to BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification, the summary of increases
reflects BOP’s program changes or improvements such as facility openings and drug
treatment program expansion and decreases reflect BOP’s management actions to
streamline operations, improve program efficiencies and reduce costs.

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a

Offsets related to Good Conduct Time refer to potential savings related to proposed legislation.
Specifically, according to BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification ,the administration has proposed
legislation to amend federal inmate good conduct time credit to provide inmates incentives that
encourage positive behavior. The proposed sentencing reforms include (1) an increase in the amount
of credit an inmate can earn for good behavior, and (2) a new sentence reduction credit, which
inmates can earn for participation in education and vocational programming.

BOP also provides narrative summaries of its initiatives, services, and
organizational units in categories and subcategories under each PPA. 37
BOP officials said that they include these narrative descriptions to provide
additional information to congressional decision makers. Figure 5
provides an example of the structure of the budget justification reflecting
categories and subcategories for which BOP provided narrative
descriptions to support its justification for the four PPA elements under
the S&E account in fiscal year’s 2014 congressional budget justification.
Figure 5: Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Budget Justification Structure

37
For the purposes of our analysis, we used the terms “category” and “subcategory” to
describe the structure of BOP’s annual budget justification based on our review of BOP’s
annual budget justification for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014. Although BOP officials
did not use the terms “category” and “subcategory” to describe the initiatives, services,
and organizational units reflected in BOP’s annual budget justification, they generally
agreed to the use of these terms as a way to describe the organization of their annual
budget justification.

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BOP Could Enhance
the Transparency of
Its Budget
Justification by
Providing Additional
Data on Cost
Components within
the Program, Project,
and Activity Levels

We found that BOP is collecting more detailed quantitative cost data on
the components that constitute each PPA, which could be useful to
congressional decision makers when reviewing BOP’s budget
justification. In accordance with departmental and OMB guidance, BOP’s
budget justifications summarize amounts by PPA, so BOP is not required
to provide additional funding data below the PPA level in its budget
justification. Providing more comprehensive information could help clarify
BOP’s proposed spending on specific categories and subcategories
reflected in its budget justification. For example, BOP’s budget
justification for fiscal year 2014 included $2.5 billion for the Inmate Care
and Programs PPA element and included narrative information for
categories such as Medical Services, Food Service, Education and
Occupational Training, Psychology Services, and Religious Services, as
well as narrative summaries for various subcategories, but did not include
proposed funding amounts for these categories. Our analysis shows that
this additional information can be useful in identifying trends and cost
drivers that may affect future costs, which could be particularly helpful
given the 33 percent growth in BOP’s budget request from fiscal years
2008 through 2014.
Our prior work has identified factors driving BOP’s cost increases in
specific categories that constitute each PPA. For example, in July 2013,
we found that per capita mental health services costs have increased in
BOP-operated institutions since fiscal year 2008 and are expected to
continue to increase. Further, we found that these increases were
generally due to three factors—inmate population increases, general
inflationary increases, and increased inmate participation rates in
psychology treatment programs. 38 As we reported in July 2013, BOP’s
expanded inmate participation in its Residential Drug Abuse Program,
which helped reduce waiting lists for the program, had increased overall
program costs. 39 In addition, the Congressional Research Service (CRS)
reported in January 2013 that BOP’s expenditures on utilities, food, and
medical care have generally increased each fiscal year since 2000,
although the per capita increase in the cost of food and utilities has not
been as pronounced as the increase in the per capita cost of inmate

38

See GAO, Bureau of Prisons: Timelier Reviews, Plan for Evaluation, and Updated
Policies Could Improve Mental Health Services Oversight, GAO-13-1 (Washington, D.C.:
July 17, 2013).
39

GAO-13-1.

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medical care. 40 CRS reported that BOP officials said conditions such as
diabetes, hypertension, and infectious diseases have a slightly higher rate
of incidence in the incarcerated population. Thus, understanding the
differences in costs for medical care, food services, and drug programs—
three of the cost components within the Inmate Care PPA—could help
congressional decision makers evaluate how these trends may affect
future costs.
We met with staff from the authorizing and appropriations committees to
obtain their views on the adequacy of BOP’s budget justification and
these staff had mixed views. While some staff said that they were
generally satisfied with the amount of information BOP provided
concerning its budget, others said that BOP’s budget justification lacked
transparency and that they would benefit from receiving additional
quantitative information on estimated amounts below the PPA elements.
They said that receiving more detailed information from BOP on an asneeded basis would be helpful. In addition, congressional decision
makers have previously requested additional information about BOP’s
budget presentations and, in particular, data below the PPA level. For
example, the conference report accompanying the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2010, 41 stated that BOP’s fiscal year 2011 budget
request should provide detailed descriptions of the major categories of
activities composing each decision unit and the proposed funding levels
for each such category, including comparisons to prior year obligations for
each category. 42
Our analysis of FMIS data shows that BOP is capturing detailed
information on the cost components within the PPAs, which BOP is not
currently providing in its budget justifications. For example, for the Inmate
Care and Programs PPA, food service, psychology services, and religious
services are three categories reflected in the budget justification that have
comparable FMIS cost component data fields. However, the budget
justification provides narrative descriptions that do not have comparable
cost component data for these three categories, which DOJ captures in
FMIS. According to BOP officials, while they use the historical cost data in
40

Congressional Research Service, The Federal Prison Population Buildup: Overview,
Policy Changes, Issues, and Options, R42937 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 22, 2013).

41

Pub. L. No. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034 (2009).

42

H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-366, at 671 (2009).

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FMIS to inform their budget development process, the FMIS cost
component data fields are not always directly linked to specific narrative
categories in the budget justification for BOP because they use their
judgment to identify categories that they consider to be of specific interest
to congressional decision makers (e.g., dollar amounts, trends, or policy
concerns) rather than standardized cost components. For example, BOP
includes narrative in the budget justification to describe costs related to
categories such as Medical Services and Food Service, among others. As
figure 6 shows, there are similarities in the FMIS data fields for which
BOP captures detailed cost information and those categories BOP uses
to describe its budget justifications. This additional information could
provide congressional decision makers with additional insights into factors
driving BOP’s budget.

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Figure 6: Categories in the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Budget Justification for Fiscal
Year 2014 for Inmate Care and Programs and Institution Security and
Administration Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Elements Compared with Cost
Center Data Fields in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Financial Management
Information System (FMIS)

a

For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms “category” and “subcategory” to describe the
structure of BOP’s budget justification, and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe
BOP’s initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed to the use of the terms
“category “and “subcategory” as a way to describe the organization of their budget justification.

While BOP does not provide in its budget justifications information on the
cost components composing each PPA, BOP officials already capture this
information, using data from FMIS, as part of their annual budget
development process. We requested specific, quantitative information
below the PPA level and BOP provided us with dollar amounts associated
with the data fields in FMIS that constitute Inmate Care and Programs,
Institution Security and Administration, and Contract Confinement PPAs
for fiscal years 2008 through 2014. Using the additional detailed
information from DOJ’s FMIS provided by BOP budget officials, we were

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able to identify changes over time in the cost components composing
each PPA, which is information congressional decision makers could use
when reviewing BOP’s budget justification. For example, we analyzed
changes in the dollar amounts associated with FMIS cost component data
fields that make up the Inmate Care and Programs PPA element over
time. The results of our analysis show that BOP’s proposed spending for
the Inmate Care and Programs PPA has continually increased from fiscal
years 2008 through 2013; however, BOP’s FMIS data showed variations
in the dollar amounts associated with the cost components that constitute
the PPA. For example, changes in dollar amounts for medical services
have increased by about 50 percent from fiscal years 2008 to 2014, and
decreased slightly for the 2 most recent fiscal years—2013 and 2014.
According to officials, the changes in dollar amounts reflect changes in
the prison population and implementation of policy initiatives intended to
lower costs. The results of our analysis are presented in figure 7. The
specific dollar amounts by fiscal year for the cost components composing
the Inmate Care and Program PPA element are provided in appendix I.

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Figure 7: Changes in Dollar Amounts Associated with Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Financial Management Information System
(FMIS) Data Fields for the Inmate Care and Programs’ Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) from Fiscal Years 2008 through
2014.

Note: The dollar amounts associated with FMIS data fields in this figure represent BOP’s available
funding information used to develop justification data for the Inmate Care and Programs PPA
element. BOP officials stated that they maintain funding data for laundry services using the Inmate
Services FMIS data field. BOP officials also noted that they include historical information in its budget
justification for costs of inmate medical and food services.

In addition, using the additional cost component information, our analysis
of BOP’s FMIS data fields showed that changes in dollars associated with
the budget justification for drug abuse treatment have increased by over
70 percent from fiscal years 2008 to 2014, and from fiscal years 2010
through 2012 increased by more than 15 percent each year—which
reflects BOP’s efforts to expand its drug treatment services. While trends
in the dollar amounts associated with medical care and drug treatment
reflect a relatively significant increase from fiscal years 2008 to 2014,

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changes in the dollar amounts associated with food and religious services
remained relatively constant for this same time frame.
Our analysis of BOP’s FMIS data also showed the proportion of dollars
associated with the FMIS data fields that compose each PPA element.
For example, we found that for fiscal year 2014, institution security
constituted over 50 percent of the funding based on cost components that
compose the Institution Security and Administration PPA element. (See
fig. 8.) In addition, we found that for this same time frame, medical
program composed 40 percent of the funding for the Inmate Care and
Programs PPA element, and private prison contracts made up over 60
percent of funding for the Contract Confinement PPA element. (See figs.
9 and 10) For additional details on each of the narrative categories, see
appendix II. In an era of scarce federal resources and given BOP’s
projected growth in inmate population and substantial increased costs in
recent years, this additional detail could be helpful to congressional
decision makers when reviewing BOP’s budget justification and making
determinations about where to increase or decrease BOP funding.

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Figure 8: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Fiscal Year
2014 Budget Justification for Institution Security and Administration Program,
Project, and Activity (PPA) Element with Funding Amounts Associated with Data
Fields in the Financial Management Information System (FMIS)

a

For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms “category” and “subcategory” to describe the
structure of BOP’s budget justification, and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe
BOP’s initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed to the use of the terms
“category “and “subcategory” as a way to describe the organization of their budget justification.

b

The figure reflects an example of the type of information provided in BOP’s narrative summaries for
its funding categories. For more details on narrative summaries for the other funding categories listed,
see appendix II.

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Figure 9: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Fiscal Year
2014 Budget Justification for Inmate Care and Programs Program, Project, and
Activity (PPA) Element with Funding Amounts Associated with Data Fields in the
Financial Management Information System (FMIS)

Notes: Percentages may not equal 100 because of rounding.
a
For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms “category” and “subcategory” to describe the
structure of BOP’s budget justification, and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe

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BOP’s initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed to the use of the terms
“category “and “subcategory” as a way to describe the organization of their budget justification.
b
The figure reflects an example of the type of information provided in BOP’s narrative summaries for
its funding categories. For more details on narrative summaries for the other funding categories listed,
see appendix II.

Figure 10: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Fiscal Year
2014 Budget Justification for Contract Confinement Program, Project, and Activity
(PPA) Element with Funding Amounts Associated with Data Fields in the Financial
Management Information System (FMIS)

Notes: Percentages may not equal 100 because of rounding.

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a

For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms “category” and “subcategory” to describe the
structure of BOP’s annual budget submission, and although BOP officials did not use these terms to
describe BOP’s initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed to the use of the
terms “category “and “subcategory” as a way to describe the organization of their budget justification.

b

The figure reflects an example of the type of information provided in BOP’s narrative summaries for
its funding categories. For more details on narrative summaries for the other funding categories listed,
see appendix II.

According to DOJ’s Fiscal Years 2012-2016 Strategic Plan, one of the
department’s guiding principles is to promote transparency, performance,
and accountability, including budget transparency. 43 According to the
plan, the department and its components will continue to promote budget
transparency, performance, and accessibility by coordinating with
leadership and regularly reporting accomplishments, among other
actions. Further, according to federal financial accounting standards, cost
information can be used by Congress in making policy decisions about
allocating federal resources among programs, authorizing and modifying
programs, evaluating program performance, and making program
authorization decisions by assessing costs and benefits. 44
BOP officials stated that they use historical cost information that BOP
maintains in DOJ’s FMIS for budget execution and monitoring as an input
to inform the annual budget development process. Specifically, budget
development staff use data from the previous 3-year period for cost
components in FMIS and adjust the funding levels based on projected
changes in prison population and other factors to help them estimate the
total funding needs for the future fiscal year by PPA. BOP officials further
stated that they regularly provide additional information upon request on
the budget justification to staff from congressional appropriations and
congressional authorizing committees. For example, they said that JMD
officials provide appropriators with funding information in response to
requests for various congressional reports and hearings, as well as
written responses to congressional inquiries related to the budget
justification. To further clarify their budget justification to Congress and

43

Department of Justice, Fiscal Years 2012-2016 Strategic Plan, (Washington, D.C.).

44

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, Statement of Federal Financial
Accounting Standards 4: Managerial Cost Accounting Standards and Concepts, July 31,
1995. According to the standard, “It is important to note that the Board’s authority does not
extend to recommending budgetary standards or budgetary concepts, and that is not the
purpose of this statement. However, the Board is committed to providing relevant and
reliable cost accounting information that supports budget planning, formulation, and
execution.”

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OMB, they said they have taken other steps, such as conducting tours of
prison facilities with congressional and OMB stakeholders to demonstrate
conditions and the basis for the President’s budget request.
BOP’s efforts to provide information upon request may meet some
congressional committee needs; however, the additional information on
projected costs would provide more detail on the cost drivers affecting the
President’s request for BOP and therefore facilitate congressional
decision making. BOP officials reported spending a total of 40 staff hours
to compile and analyze the quantitative information below the PPA level
in order to recreate the historical quantitative information for the prior
fiscal years. Thus, given that BOP already captures and has readily
available this quantitative information below the PPA level as part of its
annual budget development process, providing this more detailed
information to congressional decision makers could facilitate
congressional decision making by providing a more comprehensive
understanding of the factors affecting BOP’s budget and driving budget
increases below the PPA elements. Consulting with congressional
decision makers to determine if it would be helpful to include this
information in its annual budget justification would help provide
reasonable assurance that BOP is fully meeting congressional
stakeholders’ needs.

Conclusions

According to BOP officials, BOP’s biggest challenges are managing the
continually increasing federal inmate population while providing for
inmates’ care and safety, as well as the safety of BOP staff and
surrounding communities, within budgeted levels. BOP officials project
continuing inmate population growth and estimate increases in funding
needs for the foreseeable future. Consultation with congressional
decision makers could help BOP identify what additional information, if
any, is needed, such as providing more comprehensive detailed
information on projected costs using data already gathered by BOP. This
could enhance the transparency of BOP’s budget justification and the
President’s budget request and better inform congressional decision
making.

Recommendation for
Executive Action

To enhance the transparency of BOP’s cost information as presented in
DOJ’s annual congressional budget justifications, we recommend that the
Attorney General consult with congressional decision makers on
providing additional BOP funding detail below the PPA level in future

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budget justifications, and in conjunction with BOP, provide the data as
appropriate.

Agency Comments

We provided a draft of the report to DOJ for comment. The department
did not provide official written comments to include in our report.
However, in an e-mail on November 21, the DOJ liaison stated that DOJ
concurred with our recommendation. DOJ and BOP also provided
technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to the selected congressional
committees, the Attorney General, and the Director of BOP, and other
interested parties. In addition, this report is available at no charge on the
GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any further questions about this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-9627 or MaurerD@gao.gov. Contact points for
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found
on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report are listed in
appendix III.

David C. Maurer
Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues

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List of Requesters
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
The Honorable Tom A. Coburn, M.D.
Ranking Member
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
The Honorable John Cornyn
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
The Honorable Michael S. Lee
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security,
and Investigations
Committee on the Judiciary
House of Representatives
The Honorable Jason Chaffetz
Committee on the Judiciary
House of Representatives

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Appendix I: Dollar Amounts Associated with
Bureau of Prisons’ Budget Request Financial
Management Information System (FMIS) Data
Fields for Inmate Care and Programs
Appendix I: Dollar Amounts Associated with
Bureau of Prisons’ Budget Request Financial
Management Information System (FMIS) Data
Fields for Inmate Care and Programs

Dollars in thousands
a

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Medical program

$664,650

$766,768

$881,271

$989,611

$1,049,803

$1,047,842

$997,525

330,026

346,715

374,704

414,675

430,234

407,556

435,489

FMIS data field
Food services
Drug treatment

67,156

69,171

80,784

93,508

108,508

109,313

115,452

Unit management

470,970

468,029

560,354

562,789

551,150

620,722

610,092

Education

114,551

118,122

137,529

140,525

149,587

160,684

151,630

Religious Services

38,676

40,089

47,005

47,003

47,339

51,810

45,609

Psychology services

60,351

53,050

63,039

61,341

73,986

67,676

65,701

b

Laundry Services

Total inmate programs

64,502

60,757

63,043

73,368

68,706

76,461

88,304

$1,810,882

$1,922,701

$2,207,729

$2,382,820

$2,479,313

$2,542,064

$2,509,802

Source: BOP.

Notes: For fiscal years 2008 and 2009, BOP officials incorporated Management and Administration
(M&A) costs into the other PPA elements in the Salaries & Expenses (S&E) and Buildings & Facilities
(B&F) accounts. Therefore, the funding data in this appendix exclude dollar amounts associated for
M&A for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
a

According to BOP officials, they analyzed the funding data they collected for the following data fields
in the Financial Management Information System to inform the amounts requested for each PPA,
including the Inmate Care and Programs PPA element.

b

BOP officials stated that they maintain funding data for laundry services using the Inmate Services
FMIS data field.

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Appendix II: Narrative Summaries for Institution
Security and Administration, Inmate Care and
Programs, and Contract Confinement in the Bureau
of Prisons’ Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification
Appendix II: Narrative Summaries for
Institution Security and Administration, Inmate
Care and Programs, and Contract Confinement
in the Bureau of Prisons’ Fiscal Year 2014
Budget Justification

Institution security and administration
a

Funding categories

Narrative summaries

Sentry Information System

Each inmate is tracked through BOP’s Sentry Information System. Offenders are assigned a
security and custody status, which relates to the degree of supervision needed and ensures that
offenders are placed in the least restrictive and least costly correctional environment appropriate to
their custody and security-level needs. The result is a grouping of offenders with similar custodial
needs in an institution, and a relative reduction in the mixing of aggressive and nonaggressive
offenders.

Correctional Officers

Within each institution, correctional officers are assigned to security posts that are primarily
established on the basis of structural/visual considerations. The two basic categories of security are
external security and internal security. External security consists of a walled or fenced perimeter
supplemented by staffed security towers and armed mobile perimeter patrols. There is also razor
wire strung between a double fence with high mast lighting to illuminate the perimeter and highly
technical equipment such as alarm systems and video surveillance. Entrances through the
perimeter are controlled by a series of gates, both electrical and manual, supplemented by metal
detection systems and search procedures for weapon and contraband control. BOP has fully
incorporated closed circuit television technology in its higher-security facilities, which has enhanced
supervision and provides valuable intelligence in the management of federal inmates. For practical
purposes, all other security measures, processes, and activities can be called internal security,
commencing when an inmate is admitted and terminating upon his or her release.
Staff supervise inmates in living units, work areas, visiting areas, dining halls, and any other area
where inmates may be located or have access. Regularly scheduled counts are conducted several
times a day (five on weekdays, six on weekends) in all institutions to monitor the whereabouts of
inmates. Work supervisors and program personnel are held strictly accountable for all inmates
under their supervision.

Inmate Disciplinary Process

Violations of institution regulations are dealt with through the Inmate Disciplinary Process.
Correctional staff members conduct investigations of the alleged misconduct and forward the
findings to the Unit Discipline Committee. Depending on the seriousness of the charge, the Unit
Discipline Committee will make a finding, or refer the report to the Discipline Hearing Officer for
disposition. When practical, inmates are afforded the opportunity to participate in, and present
evidence at a due process hearing before findings are made. Inmates may appeal these decisions
utilizing the administrative remedy process.

Administrative Segregation

The Administrative Segregation program provides for the separation of inmates who require closer
supervision and monitoring from those in the general population. Such cases include, but are not
limited to, protective custody, serious escape risks, threats to the security and orderly running of the
institution. The Disciplinary Segregation program provides for segregation of offenders who have
been found guilty of violations of rules through the Inmate Disciplinary Process.

Facility Maintenance

The Facility Maintenance program is designed to adequately maintain and continue to safely
operate the physical plants of BOP institutions. Facilities vary in age from those recently
constructed to those 100 or more years old. Thirty-four of the BOP facilities are over 50 years old.
As of January 2013, BOP facilities are situated on 46,030 acres of land and contain approximately
63.4 million square feet of floor area, all of which must be maintained and furnished with utility
services. Each institution maintains communication systems including complete private automatic
branch exchange telephone systems, radio systems including base station and mobile units, and
several electronic detection and control systems.
Complex heating and air conditioning systems, high-pressure steam power plants, sophisticated
hospital equipment, emergency electrical power systems and fire protection, and life safety systems
all require regular maintenance. Despite energy-saving initiatives, discussed earlier in the budget,
the growing inmate population and inflationary factors have significantly increased utility costs.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Appendix II: Narrative Summaries for
Institution Security and Administration, Inmate
Care and Programs, and Contract Confinement
in the Bureau of Prisons’ Fiscal Year 2014
Budget Justification

Institution security and administration
a

Funding categories

Narrative summaries

Physical Plant

Physical plant requirements are identified through regular inspections conducted in the ongoing
preventive maintenance program, formal semiannual inspections, and requests for specific needs
identified by institution staff members. This program finances maintenance and minor improvement
projects that normally cost $10,000 or less. However, there are policy guidelines that allow funding
of maintenance projects (work requests) costing more than $10,000 in certain circumstances. Some
exceptions would include emergencies or security threats such as hurricanes or disturbances.
Maintenance and repair requirements in excess of $10,000 are normally included in the
Modernization and Repair program of the Buildings and Facilities budget.
The work within the maintenance program is accomplished almost entirely by inmate crews under
staff supervision. Each work crew consists of a staff foreman and 10 to 20 inmates. Each institution
must have highly skilled staff with experience and training in every phase of construction and
maintenance work including steam fitting, air conditioning, mechanics, or electronics repair. A few
specific jobs are contracted out because special skills or equipment items are required, or because
the work may be extremely dangerous. Examples of these jobs include elevator inspection and
repair, radio frequency alignment, and water tower painting.

Staff Training Academy

The Staff Training Academy (STA) at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in
Glynco, Georgia, provides introductory and advanced correctional training for BOP law enforcement
staff. The Introduction to Correctional Techniques (ICT) program is a 5-week program for a total of
159 hours of instruction that is taught in two phases. Phase I consists of 2-weeks of training at the
institution, and Phase II consists of a 3-week training program at the STA. The STA oversees the
curriculum development and administration of the 2-week (56-hour) ICT Phase I course provided at
all institutions for new employees prior to attending the ICT Phase II course at the STA. The ICT
Phase II is a 3-week (103-hour) program of instruction that covers hostage situations, ethics,
interpersonal communication skills, special offenders, diversity, inmate discipline, legal procedures,
and so forth. Successful completion of this program (academics, firearms, and the Physical Ability
Test) is required for continued employment of newly hired staff entering into law enforcement
positions. In fiscal year 2012, 2,279 new employees participated in 60 classes of the ICT program.
The STA provided advanced correctional skills training for trainers in disturbance control, firearms,
bus operations, self-defense, and side-handle baton in fiscal year 2012. The STA also provides
advanced correctional training for Marksman/Observer and Witness Security Escort. The majority of
the advanced training programs are conducted at BOP institutions, resulting in substantial cost
avoidance in training costs.

Inmate care and programs
Medical Services (Inmate
Health Care)

All BOP institutions operate outpatient ambulatory care clinics. These clinics provide a range of
outpatient services to inmates similar to those provided by ambulatory clinics found in most
communities, that is, primary health care. The clinics serve as the first level of diagnostic and
treatment services to sentenced and presentenced inmates. New institutions are typically given 2
years after activation to obtain accreditation from the Joint Commission. Care Level I institutions are
not required to achieve or maintain this accreditation because they predominantly house healthy
inmate populations. All Health Services programs and operations are subject to internal review
(Program Review) and must maintain accreditation by the American Correctional Association. Each
institution is also required to provide data to the Health Services Division (HSD) in the form of
outcome measures for a variety of clinical conditions (HIV, hypertension, diabetes, and so forth).
These evaluative and accreditation activities provide HSD with valuable data regarding the quality
and appropriateness of health care in BOP. The majority of BOP medical staff are civil service
clinical and support professionals, and the remaining staff are U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)
Commissions Corps Officers serving in a wide variety of clinical and specialty professions. USPHS
provides these clinicians and administrators via an interagency agreement.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Appendix II: Narrative Summaries for
Institution Security and Administration, Inmate
Care and Programs, and Contract Confinement
in the Bureau of Prisons’ Fiscal Year 2014
Budget Justification

Institution security and administration
a

Funding categories

Narrative summaries

Food Service

BOP provides daily meals with consideration to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for groups
published by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, for identified
macro- and micronutrients. Meal preparation is accomplished primarily by inmate workers (about 12
percent of the population) under the supervision of staff. Food preparation and recipe and menu
management are maintained by the use of a standardized national menu and a computerized Food
Service management software system. United States Penitentiary Lompoc, California, and Federal
Correction Institution El Reno, Oklahoma, utilize available land resources in limited production of
beef and milk. Farm products are consumed at the producing institutions and are also shipped to
nearby institutions to offset their need to purchase some products on the open market.
During fiscal year 2014, BOP estimates serving over 206 million meals, which is nearly 566,000
meals per day and over 3.9 million meals per week. Despite cost containment measures, the annual
costs have risen because of the growing inmate population and inflationary factors.

Educational and Vocational
Training

Inmate education programs include literacy, English as a Second Language (ESL), occupational
education, advanced occupational education (AOE), parenting, release preparation courses, and a
wide range of adult continuing, wellness, and structured and unstructured leisure time activities.
Education programming provides inmates with an opportunity to learn the functional skills that
support their reintegration into the community. At the end of fiscal year 2012, 35 percent of the
designated inmate population was enrolled in one of more education/recreation program. BOP’s
Office of Research has found that participation in education programs leads to a 16 percent
reduction in recidivism by inmates who participate in these programs.

Psychology Services

Psychology Services staff are an integral part of correctional treatment, as they administer programs
of group and individual psychotherapy, crisis intervention, prosocial skill building, and staff
consultation and training. BOP policy requires that every inmate admitted to a BOP facility be given
an initial psychological screening, which consists of psychological interviews, social history reviews,
and behavioral observation. The purposes of the screening are to identify special treatment or
referral needs, provide information useful in future crisis counseling situations, identify strengths as
well as potential adjustment problems to imprisonment, and discuss possible program needs with
the inmates and provide information about these programs. In addition, BOP psychologists have
traditionally provided the courts, parole officials, and prison administrators with comprehensive
psychological evaluations of offenders.
Inmates with mental health needs are offered a range of services, including crisis counseling,
individual and group psychotherapy, clinical case management, psychiatric treatment, and
specialized residential treatment programs. Acutely mentally ill inmates may receive these services
within BOP’s Psychiatric Referral Centers. However, most mental health treatment is provided in
regular institutions. In addition to the treatment of mental illnesses, Psychology Services provides
specialized drug abuse treatment and sex offender treatment programs.
BOP psychologists also offer treatment services designed to develop inmates’ life skills, such as
anger management, problem solving, social skills training, and stress management.

Drug Abuse Treatment

In response to the rapid growth of federal inmates with a diagnosis of a drug disorder (40 percent of
inmates entering BOP), BOP continues to develop evidence-based treatment practices to manage
and treat drug-using offenders. BOP’s strategy includes early identification through a psychology
screening, drug education, nonresidential drug abuse treatment, intensive residential drug abuse
treatment, and community transition treatment.
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (VCCLEA) of 1994 requires BOP, subject to
the availability of appropriations, to provide appropriate substance abuse treatment for 100 percent
of inmates who have a diagnosis of substance abuse or dependence and who volunteer for
treatment. In fiscal year 2012, BOP was able to provide appropriate substance abuse treatment for
100 percent of eligible inmates.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Appendix II: Narrative Summaries for
Institution Security and Administration, Inmate
Care and Programs, and Contract Confinement
in the Bureau of Prisons’ Fiscal Year 2014
Budget Justification

Institution security and administration
a

Funding categories

Narrative summaries

Religious Services

BOP employs full-time chaplains in all institutions to accommodate the constitutional right to the free
exercise of religion, manage religious programs, and provide pastoral care to inmates. Chaplains
routinely evaluate the needs of inmates in the institution and facilitate programs that address those
needs. Religious Services departments offer programs directly related to spiritual development,
community reentry, family relationships, personal responsibility, and basic religious instruction.
Chaplains provide spiritual programs across the spectrum of faiths represented in the inmate
population. Chaplains also train and familiarize staff regarding diverse religious beliefs and practices
of inmates while providing guidance for institution compliance with the First Amendment and legal
standard established by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Second Chance Act of
2007. The passage of the Second Chance Act of 2007 ushered in the opportunity to utilize mentors
in the delivery of pastoral care. Policy is being developed to expand the use of mentors; 23 mentor
coordinator positions have been approved at Life Connections and Threshold Program sites.

Contract confinement
Community Corrections and
Detention Services Branch

Responsible for the general program and policy development for BOP’s network of approximately
250 contract residential reentry centers. Community Corrections and Detention (CCD) also works
with community corrections contracting (CCC) to offer technical assistance in the acquisition
process for Residential Reentry Centers services. CCD provides technical assistance to BOP’s 22
community corrections offices in the areas of contract oversight, case management, inmate systems
management, and financial management. Responsibility for BOP’s network of contract confinement
facilities for federal juvenile offenders and short-term detention facilities also rests with CCD.

Privatization Management
Branch

Responsible for coordinating BOP’s efforts in managing a growing population of nearly 29,000
inmates located in contractor-operated secure correctional facilities. Staff from this branch oversee
the management and operation of facilities,
develop new requirements, establish policy and procedures, develop and manage contract budgets,
and serve as liaisons among the contractors and BOP and other members of the federal family.

National Institute of Corrections

Also included in this decision unit is the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), a federal entity that is
authorized by statute 18 U.S.C. §4351 to provide training, technical assistance, and information
services to federal, state, and local correctional agencies, including BOP. NIC provides technical
assistance by sending a technical resource provider or staff to the requesting agency, or an
individual or team of individuals from the requesting system visits another agency to gain expertise
and experience in the specific area of concern. In fiscal year 2012, NIC delivered 244 technical
assistance training events to federal, state, and local justice agencies.
NIC is also responsible for the National Corrections Academy (NCA), which serves as the training
division that provides training and related services for federal, state, and local correctional
practitioners. By developing and delivering training to prisons, jails and community corrections
practitioners, the academy enhances interaction among correctional agencies, other components of
the criminal justice system, public policymakers, and public and private stakeholder organizations,
thus improving correctional programming throughout the country.
Source: BOP fiscal year 2014 budget justification.
a
For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms “category” and “subcategory” to describe the
structure of BOP’s budget justification, and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe
BOP’s initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed to the use of the terms
“category “and “subcategory” as a way to describe the organization of their annual budget
justification.

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff
Acknowledgments
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff
Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

David C. Maurer, (202) 512-9627 or MaurerD@gao.gov.

Staff
Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, Chris Keisling (Assistant
Director), Carol Henn (Assistant Director), Melissa Wolfe (Assistant
Director), Kristen Kociolek (Assistant Director), Vanessa D. Dillard, John
Vocino, Billy Commons, Pedro Almoguera, Lara Miklozek, Linda Miller,
Mary Catherine Hult, and Eric Hauswirth made key contributions to this
report.

(441132)

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GAO-14-121 BOP Operational Costs

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