Council of Prison Locals Launches Take Your Lawmaker to Prison Campaign to Draw Attention to Critically Low Staffing Levels Throughout Federal Bureau or Prisons

Monday April 28, 2008

AFGE’s Council of Prison Locals recently launched its “Take Your Lawmaker to Prison” campaign, a nationwide effort to draw attention to dangerously low staffing levels throughout the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The campaign invited members of Congress to visit facilities in their districts, which provides the lawmakers with a first-hand look at the dangerous environments federal correctional officers are faced with each and every day. So far, the following tours have taken place: Congressmen Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Federal Detention Center – SeaTac in Seattle, Wash.; Congressman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), Federal Correctional Institution – Loretto in Loretto, Pa.; and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Federal Detention Center – Houston in Houston, Texas. Several tours will take place in the next several months.

• State of Federal Prisons in 2007
• Bureau of Prisons: FY 2008 Funding Problem

IN THE MEDIA:

• http://thehill.com/in-the-know/four-lawmakers-go-to-jail-during-recess-2008-03-31.html
• http://www.fedagent.com/article.php?ID=213
• http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3546575
• http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73142955016776&mkt=en-US&lang=en-US&w=ac142358&FORM=CVRE7
• http://www.federaldaily.com/federaldaily/archive/2008/04/FD041608.htm