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Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act of 2025
To require Federal law enforcement and prison officials to obtain or provide immediate medical attention to individuals in custody who display medical distress.
Summary
This bill makes it a federal crime for law enforcement officers, Bureau of Prisons officers, and U.S. Marshals Service officers to negligently fail to provide immediate medical attention to individuals in federal custody who display medical distress, if that failure results in unnecessary pain, injury, or death. Violations are punishable by up to one year of imprisonment and fines. The bill requires federal agency Inspectors General to investigate such incidents and refer cases involving negligence to the Attorney General for prosecution. It also requires agencies to establish confidential complaint processes and provide training to covered officials on providing medical assistance.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
5 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- May 22, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. · senate
- May 22, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2025
Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To require Federal law enforcement and prison officials to obtain or provide immediate medical attention to individuals in custody who display medical distress.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS IN FEDERAL CUSTODY DISPLAYING MEDICAL DISTRESS.
(a) In General.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “Sec. 251. Medical attention for individuals in Federal custody displaying medical distress
“(a) Definitions.—In this section—
“(1) the term ‘appropriate Inspector General’, with respect to a covered official, means—
“(A) the Inspector General of the Federal agency that employs the covered official; or
“(B) in the case of a covered official employed by a Federal agency that does not have an Inspector General, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice;
“(2) the term ‘covered official’ means—
“(A) a Federal law enforcement officer (as defined in section 115);
“(B) an officer or employee of the Bureau of Prisons; or
“(C) an officer or employee of the United States Marshals Service; and
“(3) the term ‘medical distress’ includes breathing difficulties.
“(b) Requirement.—
“(1) Offense.—It shall be unlawful for a covered official to negligently fail to obtain or provide immediate medical attention to an individual in Federal custody who displays medical distress in the presence of the covered official if the individual suffers unnecessary pain, injury, or death as a result of that failure.
“(2) Penalty.—A covered official who violates paragraph
(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.
“(3) State civil enforcement.—Whenever an attorney general of a State has reasonable cause to believe that a resident of the State has been aggrieved by a violation of paragraph (1) by a covered official, the attorney general or another official, agency, or entity designated by the State may bring a civil action in any appropriate district court of the United States to obtain appropriate equitable and declaratory relief.
“(c) Inspector General Investigation.—
“(1) In general.—The appropriate Inspector General shall investigate any instance in which—
“(A) a covered official fails to obtain or provide immediate medical attention to an individual in Federal custody who displays medical distress in the presence of the covered official; and
“(B) the individual suffers unnecessary pain, injury, or death as a result of the failure to obtain or provide immediate medical attention.
“(2) Referral for prosecution.—If an appropriate Inspector General, in conducting an investigation under paragraph (1), concludes that a covered official acted negligently in failing to obtain or provide immediate medical attention to an individual in Federal custody, the appropriate Inspector General shall refer the case to the Attorney General for prosecution under this section.
“(3) Confidential complaint process.—The Inspector General of a Federal agency that employs covered officials shall establish a process under which an individual may confidentially submit a complaint to the Inspector General regarding an incident described in paragraph (1) involving a covered official employed by the Federal agency (or, in the case of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, involving a covered official employed by a Federal agency that does not have an Inspector General).
“(d) Training.—The head of an agency that employs covered officials shall provide training to each covered official on obtaining or providing medical assistance to individuals in medical distress.”.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“251. Medical attention for individuals in Federal custody displaying medical distress.”. <all>
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