NEWS: Sen. Ossoff Awarded Prestigious Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight

Sen. Ossoff awarded Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight, recognizing Sen. Ossoff's work investigating corruption and civil rights abuses

Since taking office, Sen. Ossoff has led bipartisan investigations into corruption and civil rights abuses

WATCH/DOWNLOAD: Video footage of award ceremony remarks

WATCH/DOWNLOAD: Video B-roll of award ceremony

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is being recognized for his work investigating corruption and civil rights abuses.

Today, the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy awarded Sen. Ossoff the 2024 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight, given to legislators "who exhibit leadership in conducting bipartisan, fact-based oversight with a high degree of integrity and a commitment to legislative comity and civility."

According to The Levin Center, Sen. Ossoff was chosen for the prestigious award for his bipartisan Congressional investigations of the Federal prison system, culminating in Sen. Ossoff passing into law his bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act.

"Senator Ossoff started looking at allegations of serious problems in the federal prison in his home state of Georgia. He then expanded the probe to include the operations of the Bureau of Prisons throughout the country," said Jim Townsend, Director of the Levin Center. "In doing so, he actively sought the participation of his Republican counterparts with a commitment to uncovering the facts and to working collegially to address problems. We are proud to present the Carl Levin Award to Senator Ossoff and thank him for his good work."

"Congratulations to Sen. Ossoff for receiving the Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight. We worked together to pass our bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act into law to improve the working conditions and safety of our federal prisons, and I am glad to see that he is being recognized for his overall efforts on the Judiciary Committee," said Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), the original co-sponsor of Sen. Ossoff's bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act.

"I came to the U.S. Senate with a background leading investigations of human rights abuses and war crimes, and I took office intent on exposing the abuse of Americans who have no power. These bipartisan investigations of the Federal prison system revealed corruption, abuse, and misconduct and the urgent need to overhaul Federal prison oversight," Sen. Ossoff said. "Bringing Republicans and Democrats together, we passed into law my Federal Prison Oversight Act to strengthen oversight of Federal prisons, but urgent work remains to address the human rights crisis behind bars in America. I'm grateful to my colleagues for working alongside me in these efforts, and I appreciate this recognition from the Levin Center."

Sen. Ossoff awarded 2024 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight by Jim Townsend

In 2022, Sen. Ossoff led a 10-month bipartisan investigation into corruption, abuse, and misconduct at FCI Atlanta (formerly named U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta), uncovering long-term failures of Federal prison administration that likely contributed to loss of life; jeopardized the health and safety of inmates and staff; and undermined public safety and civil rights in Georgia and the Southeast Region of the United States.

Later in 2022, Sen. Ossoff led an 8-month bipartisan investigation into sexual abuse of female prisoners in Federal custody, which uncovered that BOP employees sexually abused female prisoners in at least two-thirds of Federal prisons that have held women over the past decade.

Following the results of his bipartisan investigations, Sen. Ossoff introduced - and then passed into law - the bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act, historic prison reform legislation to overhaul independent oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prison's 122 facilities nationwide by mandating routine inspections of all facilities by the DOJ Inspector General and establishing a new Ombudsman to investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of incarcerated people and staff.

The Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy was established in 2015 to carry on the legislative oversight legacy and public vision of U.S. Senator Carl Levin who represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate for 36 years. The Levin Center is headquartered at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan, with an office in Washington, D.C.

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