The Prison Reform and Redemption Act: The Bill Behind the First Step Act

The Prison Reform and Redemption Act (H.R. 3356) was a 2017 House bill that would have let federal prisoners earn "time credits" for taking programs and use them to finish their sentences in a halfway house, on home confinement, or under community supervision. It never became law on its own, but its main ideas became the core of the First Step Act. Below is the FAQ I wrote when the bill was introduced.

Update (October 2026): H.R. 3356 never became law on its own. Its main ideas became Title I of the First Step Act, signed December 21, 2018 (Pub. L. 115-391). Several details below changed in the final law. For example, judges do not approve transfers to prerelease custody, the phone limit is 510 minutes a month, and people with a final deportation order cannot use time credits. The current time credit rules are at 18 U.S.C. § 3632 and 18 U.S.C. § 3624(g). See our First Step Act summary for the law as passed.

In August 2017, a bipartisan group in the House introduced H.R. 3356, the Prison Reform and Redemption Act. The bill has seven cosponsors, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, whose support improves its chances in committee. It still needs a House floor vote, Senate passage, and the President's signature. Here are answers to common questions about the bill.

1. What is the Prison Reform and Redemption Act, H.R. 3356?

Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) introduced H.R. 3356, the Prison Reform and Redemption Act (PRRA), on July 24, 2017. Its stated purpose is "to provide for programs to help reduce the risk that prisoners will recidivate upon release from prison, and for other purposes." In other words, it aims to lower the risk that people will commit new crimes after leaving prison (called "recidivism").

It does this partly through "time credits." Federal prisoners earn them by taking recidivism reduction programs and "productive activities." The credits let you spend more of your sentence in prerelease custody: home confinement, a halfway house, or "community supervision."

2. How would the bill be put in place?

The Attorney General would have 180 days to create a "Post-Sentencing Risk and Needs Assessment System." The system rates each prisoner's risk of reoffending, and it must be statistically validated, meaning tested to show it predicts accurately.

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) would then have 180 days to start using it. Prisoners would be assigned to programs based on their risk level, and reassessed from time to time.

The BOP would have five years to phase the system in fully, adding 20 percent of prisoners each year. People closest to release would go first.

During the phase-in, the BOP could give time credits and other rewards for existing programs.

3. What rewards does the bill offer?

You earn 10 days of time credit for every 30 days of successful participation in programs or productive activities. You earn 5 extra days for every 30 days if either:

• Your risk went down over two reassessments in a row, or
• You are rated low or no risk and your risk did not go up over two reassessments in a row

The BOP could also give people in programs up to 900 phone minutes a month, but no more than 30 minutes a day.

4. How do time credits work?

Time credits are not good time. The bill leaves good time alone, and you can earn time credits on top of it.

Under this bill, you could move to prerelease custody once your credits equal the rest of your sentence. The warden would then recommend to your sentencing judge that you be placed in prerelease custody. If the judge did not act within 30 days, you would be placed in prerelease custody.

If the warden did not recommend you, you could appeal to the BOP Director. If the Director said no, you could ask the sentencing judge to reconsider.

5. What is "prerelease custody"?

Under this bill, prerelease custody includes a halfway house, home confinement, or "community supervision." The bill is vague about how community supervision would work; the BOP would set the conditions. It sounds like "parole light," and the U.S. Probation Office would likely supervise people on it.

6. Can non-citizens get these benefits?

Yes, non-citizens could take part. But non-citizens eligible for prerelease custody would be handed over to immigration officials for deportation instead of being released into the community.

7. What counts as a "recidivism reduction program"?

The bill lists:

• Social, communication, anti-bullying, and other life skills
• Family relationships and parenting skills
• Classes on morals or ethics
• Academic classes
• Cognitive behavioral treatment (therapy that helps change patterns of thinking and behavior)
• Mentoring
• Substance abuse treatment
• Vocational (job) training
• Faith-based classes or services
• Civic engagement and community service
• A prison job, including through a prison work program
• Victim impact classes or other restorative justice programs

8. What is a "productive activity"?

The bill defines it as "a group or individual activity that is designed to allow prisoners determined as having a low or no risk of recidivating to remain productive and thereby maintain a low or no risk of recidivating."

9. Who cannot get the benefits?

There is a long list of exclusions. In general, it covers people convicted of violent crimes, drug crimes that caused death or serious injury, and armed career criminals. The list is too long for this FAQ.

10. What else is in the bill?

• BOP officers could store personal guns outside the secure perimeter while at work.
• The use of restraints on pregnant prisoners would be limited.
• BOP staff would get "de-escalation" training.
• Email between prisoners and their lawyers would be confidential.
• Prisoners could ask their sentencing court for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582 if the BOP Director refused or failed to ask for it.
• Prisoners age 60 or older who have served two-thirds of their sentence could finish it on home confinement. People excluded from time credits would be excluded here too. This program would run only for fiscal years 2018 through 2022.

2026 note: The First Step Act included the gun storage, restraints, de-escalation training, and compassionate release changes. Today you can file your own compassionate release motion after asking the warden and either finishing the BOP appeals or waiting 30 days (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). The elderly home detention program was renewed through fiscal year 2023 under 34 U.S.C. § 60541(g). The attorney email provision was not part of the final law.

11. Where can I get a copy of this FAQ?

You can download it here: Prison Reform and Redemption Act FAQs.

Read the full text of H.R. 3356 (PDF)

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