John Chandler: “I rise today to highlight a serious security risk to our communities. Our Federal prison system faces a crisis that we…”

“I rise today to highlight a serious security risk to our communities. Our Federal prison system faces a crisis that we can no longer ignore. The inmate population continues to reach record highs; yet the administration and Congress failed to provide the funding to keep our prisons secure. This has caused overcrowding and a shortage in correctional staff. Our prisons are now more dangerous and our communities are being put in jeopardy. For example, last July, Lexington, Kentucky, an inmate escaped from the Lexington Federal Medical Center because there were fewer than 20 staff members supervising almost 2,000 inmates. He was eventually caught. Thankfully, no one in the community was seriously injured. However, if we do not start funding our Federal prison systems at a level that provides adequate staff, we may not be as fortunate next time. I urge my colleagues and the administration to provide sufficient funding to the Federal prison system. ____________________”