Cliff Stearns: “in my State of Florida there is a desperate need for prison space and the funds to build correctional facilities.…”

“in my State of Florida there is a desperate need for prison space and the funds to build correctional facilities. President Clinton called for a renewed effort to fight crime by focusing, in part, on the criminal and incarceration. Today, I want to bring to his attention an innovative idea Union County, FL, has that has been ignored by the Justice Department. The Union County community has banded together to build, with no taxpayer moneys, a prison. The county has donated the land for the prison and will build to the specifications and requirements of the Federal prison system. The only ingredient missing is the Federal Government's commitment that they will use the prison. Incredibly the Justice Department says it is not interested. This prison means jobs for this community, costs the Federal Government nothing and will help keep criminals off the streets. It is exactly the kind of community response we need in this country but, Mr. Speaker, the Justice Department just is not interested.”