# 119-s-5482: PREP Act

119-s-5482, PREP Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-15).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5482
- As of: 2026-10-15
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5482
- Congress: 119
- Title: PREP Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-23
- Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Cosponsors: 14
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-15

## Summary

**Would create an Office of Prison Education and a Federal Prison Education Program to expand, standardize, and fund education for people incarcerated in federal facilities.** It would also support state and local systems with research, technical assistance, and a national clearinghouse of best practices. - People in custody. Expands access to literacy, high school equivalency, postsecondary programs, apprenticeships, and career training and requires advising, financial aid counseling, and credit-transfer help to support post-release progress. - Education providers. Opens eligibility to colleges, local education agencies, nonprofits, faith-based groups, volunteer literacy programs, employer partnerships, and consortia while banning diploma mills and favoring providers with strong completion and employment results. - Federal and state corrections plus veterans. Requires federal facilities to provide logistics support, mandates data collection and interagency evaluation, and directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to connect incarcerated veterans to education and counseling while limiting certain VA stipends during incarceration. *Would increase federal spending by $170 million from FY2027 through 2033 and allows the federal share to cover up to 75% of program costs, with partners matching the remainder.*

## Cosponsors (14)

- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Expanded prison education and provider rules: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create an Office of Prison Education inside the Bureau of Prisons. The Office would be led by an Assistant Director appointed by the BOP Director and would run a Federal Prison Education Program to expand and standardize education in Federal prisons and share research and…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act
- 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-sres-854: A resolution designating September 2026 as "National Voting Rights Month".

## Sources
- [119-s-5482 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5482)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2295)
- [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852)
- [119-sres-854: A resolution designating September 2026 as "National Voting Rights Month".](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-854)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5482 (as of 2026-10-15).