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Further Continuing Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2007

By: Jim Costa
By: Jim Costa
Date: Jan. 31, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Criminal Justice


FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 2007

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Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of my constituents in the small rural town of Mendota, California.

I thank my friends Chairman OBEY and Ranking Member LEWIS, and Chairman MOLLOHAN and Ranking Member WOLF for their hard work and specifically for including sufficient funding to complete the construction of the Mendota Federal Correction Institution.

Crowding at Federal medium-security facilities currently is 37 percent over capacity.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons expects 7,500 new Federal inmates annually.

Once constructed, Mendota would provide 1,552 beds to help address the growing demand.

The BOP has spent $100 million to complete 40 percent of a prison in Mendota.

With this bill, the Federal Government is stepping up to a commitment that was made to California and Mendota by providing enough funds to complete the prison.

Mendota, is a city with an 18.6 percent unemployment rate and 42 percent living below the poverty line.

The prison will provide good jobs and a major boost to a very depressed local economy.

Again, thank you to my colleagues, completing Mendota is a sign that our new majority is committed to responsible governance.

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