EXCLUSIVE — A pair of senators demanded information from the Bureau of Prisons on Tuesday about its efforts to improve recidivism rates after learning that the agency has rejected numerous attempts from faith-based groups to help.

Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Gary Peters (D-MI) revealed in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner to Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters that they had learned the agency received applications from eight groups with religious affiliations that specialized in recidivism reduction but only partially accepted two of them.