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As Millions Suffer, Congress Awards BOP $356 Million for New Kansas Prison

As millions of Americans suffer economic pain from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s business as usual for fat cat lawmakers who continue to reveal how out of touch and indifferent they are to the lives of their constituents.

The irony was apparently lost on Senator Jerry Moran, (R-Kansas), who declared, “Welcome to ‘Kansas Common Sense,’” in a June 15, 2020 release in which he boasted of $356 million that Congress had awarded the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to construct a new federal correctional institute and prison camp in Leavenworth, Kansas. Meanwhile, Congress had bickered for months over emergency stimulus relief proposals to aid individuals and families at the brink of economic collapse.

“This project will bring the Leavenworth prison system into the 21st century,” Moran proudly declared. “The Leavenworth project is the largest federal construction investment since the installation of NBAF, and I will continue to work with the city of Leavenworth and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to get this project to completion.”

There is an apparent silver lining for unemployed Kansans, as the project will provide “hundreds of jobs during the multi-year construction of the facility,” according to Moran, who coincidentally chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. “At a time when federal prisons are closing around the country, this project will secure jobs for Kansans for decades.”

Leavenworth Mayor Mike Griswold also cheered the appropriation. “Today is an exciting and important day in the history of the First City of Kansas,” said Griswold. “The announcement of a plan to construct a new prison to replace the current U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth represents a continuation of the City’s century-plus long relationship with our great federal partner.”

Griswold praised Moran as well. “Senator Moran has been a champion in Congress for the new prison and we thank him for his due diligence, perseverance, and ability to keep all parties informed and moving forward,” said Griswold. “His strong and consistent leadership has been instrumental in the decision to construct a new federal penitentiary to Leavenworth.” 

 

Sources: bizjournals.com, Moran.senate.gov

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