[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 164 (Wednesday, November 16, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORTING THE D. RAY JAMES CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 16, 2016

  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, only in Washington could it make 
sense to heap praise and award a bonus to a contractor just two weeks 
before you try to cancel their contract. That's exactly what the 
Department of Justice (DOD and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) are trying to do 
in my district to the D. Ray James Correctional Facility in Folkston, 
Georgia.
  Despite the fact that D. Ray James has been rated ``superior'' by BOP 
in each of the last three years, and operates $3,000 more efficiently 
per inmate than its federal peers, bureaucrats at the DOJ and BOP are 
threatening to shut it down. This stems from an unsubstantiated DOJ 
report that admits they didn't study several critical factors during 
their review, and a politically motivated attempt to shut down prisons 
holding illegal aliens, with no plan on how to deal with them.
  In the balance are nearly 500 jobs in my district and thousands more 
across the county. To make matters worse, the BOP extended D. Ray 
James' contract just a day before trying to go back on its word. Better 
yet, the author of the report--Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates--and 
officials from the Bureau of Prisons are refusing to take my call to 
explain their actions or answer my questions. The simple truth is the 
facts do not support their conclusion and they are afraid to admit it.
  The American people are sick and tired of a bureaucracy run amok and 
there is perhaps no better example than this, from the same 
Administration that accidentally gave more than 1800 illegal aliens 
bound for deportation full American citizenship last year. I call on 
the BOP and DOJ to honor their commitment to the outstanding employees 
at D. Ray James and at private correctional facilities across the 
county. It's time for them to stop stonewalling the efforts of Congress 
to hold them accountable for their actions.

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