[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1609-E1610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, AND JUDICIARY, AND RELATED 
                   AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. DEBORAH PRYCE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 5, 1998

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4276) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and 
     State, the Judiciary, and related agencies for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes:

  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the 
amendment offered by my fellow Buckeye State colleague, Mr. Traficant, 
and I commend him for his leadership on this issue.
  All families in Ohio, which include my constituents in and around 
Columbus, were placed in serious harm's way as a result of the recent 
breakout of six inmates from the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center 
located in Youngstown. Five of the escapees were murderers who had been 
transferred to Youngstown by the District of Columbia.
  We are all a little bit relieved to know that, thanks to excellent 
law enforcement, five of the six inmates have been caught, but one 
remains at large and remains a menace to all citizens of this country.
  Mr. Chairman, what is particularly alarming about this situation is 
that some of those murderers who escaped had absolutely no business 
being transferred by the District of Columbia to the Youngstown 
facility, which is designed to house medium risk criminals--not the 
extremely violent, high-risk variety like those thugs who escaped. This 
situation is unacceptable, and the people of Ohio will not stand for 
it.
  Who is responsible for this? One thing appears certain, the District 
of Columbia agreed only to transfer medium-risk criminals to 
Youngstown. Yet, in the words of the director of the D.C. Corrections 
Department, many of the prisoners transferred by the District of 
Columbia to Youngstown were inmates who had

[[Page E1610]]

``committed murder and mayhem'' and were ``some of the most 
recalcitrant inmates to come out of'' the D.C. penitentiary.
  In other words, the District of Columbia either was grossly negligent 
or they callously hoodwinked the people of Ohio. Either way, the 
gentleman from Youngstown, and I demand that the District of Columbia 
fully account for this situation and be held accountable, accordingly.
  Mr. Traficant's amendment will help ensure that the events of the 
past are not repeated by the District of Columbia. In addition, I 
believe we should explore other avenues in coordination with state 
officials like Ohio attorney general Betty Montgomery, who has 
expressed to me her commitment to make sure that the people of Ohio are 
protected.
  I urge support for the Traficant amendment.

                          ____________________