Senator Ayotte Tours Federal Prison in Berlin

Press Release

During a visit to the North Country on Tuesday, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) visited the federal correctional facility in Berlin, where she was accompanied on a tour of the prison with the Warden, Dr. Deborah Schult, and state Senator John Gallus. During the tour of complex, Senator Ayotte also learned about the work and rehabilitation programs for future inmates. FCI Berlin is the only federal correctional facility in Northern New England.

"Here we have a brand new, state-of-the-art facility that is ready to house inmates -- the only thing that's missing is the staff," said Senator Ayotte. "I will continue to work with Bureau of Prisons officials to try to open the facility as soon as possible. Getting the Berlin prison operational will help address dangerous overcrowding in the federal prison system while simultaneously creating job opportunities."

Senator Ayotte has made it a top priority to work with the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to activate the facility, which has been vacant and unstaffed since it was completed in 2010. Because of Congress' failure to pass a budget last year, the federal BOP is being funded under a Continuing Resolution that does not include funds for staffing the prison, leaving taxpayers on the hook to maintain an empty new prison at a cost of $4 million per year.

On May 9, Senator Ayotte wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder, Acting BOP Director Thomas Kane, and other federal officials to ask that BOP redirect sufficient funds in its FY2011 budget that would allow for the opening and staffing of the prison. In a June 23 meeting in Senator Ayotte's Capitol Hill office, BOP Assistant Director William Dalius told Senator Ayotte that opening the prison is a high priority for BOP, and that the agency is committed to working with her to ensure that the prison is open and staffed as soon as possible. FCI Berlin is estimated to create 320-340 urgently needed jobs and inject $40 million annually into the North Country economy, which has been hard hit by job losses and the economic downturn.

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