U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is asking Congress to pass a piece of legislation that he has submitted for approval. The Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2012, would take away the power of appointing the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from the Attorney General and give it to the President, with the advice and consent of Congress.
At the heart of the matter is the concern that Federal Prison Industries (FPI) is taking away jobs from McConnell’s Kentucky constituents, and giving them to federal prisoners in his state. FPI, also known as UNICOR, has been attacked by legislators and business owners since it was formally created in 1934. Under the direction of FPI, federal prison inmates supply goods and services such as radio mounts and cables used by the U.S. military, furniture used by the government, and shirts used by the Air Force, the latter of which is the source of contention between McConnell and the feds. A Kentucky company wants those items to be made by private companies.
Although items produced by inmates working for FPI are not available to commercial outlets, private businesses contend that UNICOR workers take jobs away from private citizens. According to FedCURE, McConnell was approached by Kentucky business owners who demanded that he do something to keep jobs in the private sector, not in federal prisons.
McConnell responded by drafting the Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2012, which is co-sponsored by Senator Rand Paul. FedCURE quotes McConnell as stating, “Under my bill, the Bureau of Prisons and Federal Prisons Industries can no longer thumb their noses at Congress and at our constituents whose jobs they are jeopardizing This measure will not only bring some much needed accountability and transparency to this Agency, but it will also help save Kentucky jobs and potentially the safety of those serving their country as federal corrections officers.”
With a shrinking job market, McConnell is focused on helping residents of Kentucky find employment. Detractors of FPI support McConnell’s act, but opposition to UNICOR has come from other sources, too, most notably from those who claim the government is using inmates as slave labor. Inmates working for FPI earn from 23 cents to $1.15 an hour. Prisoners are paid a salary far lower than minimum wage in any correctional institution, federal or state. A UNICOR job pays the highest salary, and for those prisoners without outside family support, a UNICOR jobs affords the money to purchase toiletries or to make a phone call to home. Working for FPI is desirable for many inmates, no matter what their personal feelings about FPI may be, and the waiting list for a UNICOR job is always long.
Those who support FPI claim that the government is getting quality goods and services at a very low price. Most state prisons are forced to cut programs to the core; those programs that teach job skills or a trade are among the first to go. Proponents of FPI claim that it provides inmates with valuable job training skills which will aid them in seeking job opportunities when they are released. Employment after release has been linked to a reduction in recidivism, which in turn fosters public safety.
Ninety percent of inmates are released back into their community. Some federal inmates working at UICOR in Kentucky are likely to come from that state and will go back to a Kentucky community. McConnell seems to be saying that he only supports jobs for those without a criminal record. While his state reaps the benefits of having five federal prisons, which provide jobs for correctional officers and staff, as well as money generated by visitors who stay at a local motel and buy gas and food while they visit a loved one in prison McConnell seems to ignore the fact that UNICOR is staffed by correctional officers (jobs) and that millions of dollars are saved by the government when they purchase products by FPI. That inmates get job training is just an added bonus.
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