[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AUTHORIZING THE GSA TO DISPOSE OF THE LORTON CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX IN 
                          VIRGINIA, H.R. 4523

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 1998

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to join my Virginia colleagues 
Tom Davis and Jim Moran in sponsoring important legislation which will 
allow the General Services Administration (GSA) to dispose of the 
Lorton Correctional Complex in Virginia.
  Last month Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore announced that the 
Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia had agreed to 
finally close Lorton and relocate the remaining prisoners to privately 
run facilities around the state. This, Mr. Speaker, is good news for 
Virginia and the remaining occupants of the prison.
  Mr. Speaker, over the years conditions at Lorton have gone from bad 
to worse. With chronic overcrowding, inmate idleness, widespread drug 
use, inadequate education and training programs and increasing 
violence, Lorton has become a ``finishing school'' for criminals. The 
situation has grown so bad, Mr. Speaker, that the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation has agents inside the prison to investigate only the 
crimes taking place within the prison.
  With the closure of Lorton, inmates will be distributed to sites 
around the state that offer more opportunities such as training and 
education. An inmate who gains a skill or learns a trade is better 
prepared to live a life without crime upon his or her release. 
Recidivism, a major problem at Lorton, will hopefully drop.
  At the same time, Mr. Speaker, the neighbors of Lorton will no longer 
have to sit up nights worrying about escapes. Instead, the Fairfax 
County Board of Supervisors has unanimously agreed upon a plan that 
provides for a recreational use on most of the property. This bill 
establishes the framework by which the process will be undertaken. I 
lend it my support and urge the House's approval.

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