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No Frills Prison Act

Introduced: January 7, 1997 See on congress.gov
This bill died when the 105th Congress ended
It never became law before the 105th Congress (1997–1998) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 28, 1997
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime.
Jan 7, 1997
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jan 7, 1997
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

No Frills Prison Act - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require a State, to be eligible for truth in sentencing incentive grants, to demonstrate that it: (1) provides living conditions and opportunities within its prisons that are not more luxurious than those that the average prisoner would have experienced if not incarcerated; (2) does not provide to any such prisoner specified benefits or privileges, including earned good time credits, less than 40 hours a week of work that either offsets or reduces the expenses of keeping the prisoner or provides resources toward restitution of victims, unmonitored phone calls (with exceptions), in-cell television viewing, possession of pornographic materials, instruction or training equipment for any martial art or bodybuilding or weightlifting equipment, or dress or hygiene other than as is uniform or standard in the prison; and (3) in the case of a prisoner serving a sentence for a crime of violence which resulted in serious bodily injury to another, does not provide housing other than in separate cell blocks intended for violent prisoners, less than nine hours a day of physical labor (with exceptions), any release from the prison for any purpose unless under physical or mechanical restraint, any viewing of television, any inter-prison travel for competitive sports, more than one hour a day spent in sports or exercise, or possession of personal property exceeding 75 pounds in total weight or that cannot be stowed in a standard size U.S. military issue duffel bag.

Directs the Attorney General to establish similar conditions in the Federal prison system.

What's happening now January 28, 1997

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 169: No Frills Prison Act. 105th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-169/
MLA
"H.R. 169: No Frills Prison Act." 105th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-169/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 169, 105th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-169/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 169: No Frills Prison Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-169/)
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