WASHINGTON (AP) - Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley has introduced legislation designed to prevent inmates from using cell phones to commit crimes from inside federal prisons.

The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, would prohibit the use or possession of cell phones and wireless devices in federal prisons. The bill also would classify cell phones and wireless devices as contraband material.

Grassley contends that cell phones and other wireless devices are being used by inmates to continue criminal enterprises.

Currently, cell phones found in federal prisons are not specifically defined as contraband material. As a result, guards and inmates found smuggling or possessing a cell phone are rarely punished.

Under the bill, anyone who provides or attempts to provide an inmate with a cell phone faces imprisonment up to one year.