Political Quotes

“I want to be very explicit about both my position on the issue of prisoners working as well as what the intent of this amendment is that I am a cosponsor of. First of all, I believe prisoners should work. I am not for a no work policy. I support many of the ideas that are embraced by the Senator from Texas in his previous efforts to expand the type of work that prisoners do. Second, this amendment is not a prisoners-don't-work amendment. The only conditions where prisoners stop working would be if the Federal Prison Industries are operating at an uncompetitively high level of price for the products that they produce. If that is true, then what it means is that the taxpayers are subsidizing the work of the Federal Prison Industries by allowing that operation to basically function at an above-market cost. If that is true, then the Senator from Texas should be on our side with respect to this amendment because it would mean that not only are the taxpayers paying for the costs of running prisons and the incarceration, it would mean they are also paying extra for these products that are manufactured in the prisons. They are paying both through the front door and through the back door.”