Washington (CNN) The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill backed by the White House aimed at improving federal prisons that faces steep opposition in the Senate and among advocates of criminal justice revisions.

The First Step Act, sponsored by Georgia's GOP Rep. Doug Collins and New York's Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, passed Tuesday afternoon by 360-59, following its passage out of the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month by a vote of 25-5.

The bill mandates a series of changes to the Bureau of Prisons, including increasing access and incentives for some prisoners to participate in programs, like education and vocational training, aimed at decreasing the chance an inmate returns to prison after release. It would also mandate federal prisoners be incarcerated no more than 500 miles from their homes, ban the shackling of pregnant women and enshrine into law the bureau's provision of feminine hygiene products as needed.

But the legislation has come under fire almost entirely for what it does not contain: measures that would lessen the severity of federal sentences and thereby put a dent in the federal prison population.

Grassley: House bill can't pass Senate as is

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