(The Guardian) White House requests $152m to reopen Alcatraz in budget request to Congress
Tucked away within Trump’s budget proposal to Congress is a request for $152m to return Alcatraz prison island to an active facility, following up on the president’s calls last year to reopen the infamous prison turned tourist destination.
The budget seeks funds for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to cover the first-year costs of rebuilding Alcatraz into “a state-of-the-art secure prison facility”. Congress would need to approve the request in a spending bill for justice department.
The request reads: For years, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has housed violent criminals in crumbling detention facilities. Building on a $5 billion investment secured in the President’s WFTC, the Budget further invests in BOP to ensure competitive pay, safe working conditions, and an end to longstanding correctional ofcer shortages. Within this level, the Budget also afrms the President’s commitment to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility, providing $152 million to cover the first year of project costs.
Last May, Trump announced on social media that he was directing the Bureau of Prisons, the US Department of Justice, and other agencies to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
Reuters notes that Alcatraz, which opened in 1934, had been billed as America’s most secure prison given the island location, frigid waters and strong currents.
It closed as a prison in 1969 and has been under the National Park Service’s auspices. The Bureau of Prisons’ website recounts that it was closed because it was too expensive to continue operating, noting it was nearly three times more costly to operate than any other federal prison.
Tucked away within Trump’s budget proposal to Congress is a request for $152m to return Alcatraz prison island to an active facility, following up on the president’s calls last year to reopen the infamous prison turned tourist destination.
The budget seeks funds for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to cover the first-year costs of rebuilding Alcatraz into “a state-of-the-art secure prison facility”. Congress would need to approve the request in a spending bill for justice department.
The request reads: For years, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has housed violent criminals in crumbling detention facilities. Building on a $5 billion investment secured in the President’s WFTC, the Budget further invests in BOP to ensure competitive pay, safe working conditions, and an end to longstanding correctional ofcer shortages. Within this level, the Budget also afrms the President’s commitment to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility, providing $152 million to cover the first year of project costs.
Last May, Trump announced on social media that he was directing the Bureau of Prisons, the US Department of Justice, and other agencies to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
Reuters notes that Alcatraz, which opened in 1934, had been billed as America’s most secure prison given the island location, frigid waters and strong currents.
It closed as a prison in 1969 and has been under the National Park Service’s auspices. The Bureau of Prisons’ website recounts that it was closed because it was too expensive to continue operating, noting it was nearly three times more costly to operate than any other federal prison.
