FMA’s Chapter 373 (United States Marshals Service) in general, and their President Jason Wojdylo in particular, are frequent partners of the FMA National Office in identifying key issues that need to be addressed for the good of feds. From addressing staffing shortages and gender pay disparities to whistleblower protections, the national office has few better partners on the ground. Chapter 373 has recently brought to our attention a new issue. The Bureau of Prisons (BoP) administers a large trust account, totaling approximately $100 million, on behalf of prisoners. This fund is shielded from some criminal scrutiny, and in effect allows many prisoners to hide money that courts have ordered should go to their victims or for child support. Larry Nasser, for example, has been able to shelter a significant amount of money that courts have ruled is owed to his victims.

Chapter 373 is working hard to address this issue, and the FMA National Office is acting in full support of them on Capitol Hill. There is significant support to address this issue, with a bipartisan group of Senators including Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durban (D-IL) who are working to move administration of the fund from the BoP to the Department of the Treasury, ensuring that this fund receives proper oversight and that it cannot be used as a shelter for money that is owed in child support or as restitution. FMA national office staff recently met with staff for Congressman Lance Gooden (R-TX) to discuss this issue. Rep. Gooden is considering introducing legislation in the House. FMA is working to secure additional support for the proposed legislation, making it bipartisan and giving it well-placed supporters in both chambers of Congress to significantly boosting its odds of passage. We would like to thank Chapter 373 and Mr. Wojdylo for all their hard work on this issue, as well as the blood sweat and tears they have put in on behalf of feds in the past.