Political Quotes

“Federal Prison Industries takes jobs away from law-abiding citizens of this nation. Many people are concerned about their future job security or where their next job will come from. If it is within one of the more than 250 industries FPI already is in, watch out! We all understand the need to control a potentially violent prison population. This bill points to a better way to train prisoners for real jobs in the outside world than to have them unfairly compete against small businesses for the precious few contracts with the Federal Government. It will also allow FPI to manufacture products that are no longer made in America and to also perform work in support of non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity. The jobs of law-abiding citizens--the forgotten Americans--who get up every day, dress their kids for school, and set off for a long hard day of work should not be sacrificed for convicted felons. The unintended and indirect message from FPI to the forgotten American is that if you want a job, commit a crime. That's not the American way! Some of my small business constituents from northern Illinois have had difficulty in selling to the Federal Government because of the unfair competition from FPI. I support H.R. 2965 because it will simply require that FPI compete like every other business for contracts with the Federal Government.…”