U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) questioned Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Charles Samuels, Jr. about the agency's budget request for Fiscal Year 2015 during a hearing with the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, of which Rogers serves as Chairman. 

BOP's budget request for Fiscal Year 2015 totals $6.8 billion for salaries and expenses, and $90 million for its building and facilities account, constituting essentially flat funding. 

"At the end of Fiscal Year 2013, a quarter of our medium security inmates and 85% of our low security inmates were triple bunked. Considering that eight of every ten medium security inmates has a history of violence, this creates some very serious questions about the safety of the BOP's staff and other inmates," said Rogers. "In the next five years, we expect the prison population to increase by 8% to over 234,000, so I am looking forward to discussing with you the Bureau's strategy moving forward."

Rogers praised the dedication of public servants in southern and eastern Kentucky who work at USP McCreary, USP Big Sandy, FCI Manchester and FCI Ashland. 

"Their jobs are difficult and import," said Rogers. "We owe it to all of these men and women to ensure that when they leave their homes and their families every morning, they are leaving for a workplace that is safe and secure. I tip my hat to them for their hard work."

Rogers encouraged the BOP to include funding for future prisons in its budget request to help meet the projected increase in prison population.

Click here to watch the entire BOP budget hearing. 
*NOTE: Rogers' comments begin at 12:40.

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