The Honorable James Sensenbrennner, Chairman
House Judiciary Committee
2332 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable John Conyers, Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: H.R. 1577 -Federal Prison Industries Competition Contracting Act of 2001
Dear Representatives Sensenbrenner and Conyers:
We are writing to oppose H.R. 1577 a bill that would eliminate the mandatory source requirement in current law that gives preference in certain government contracts to the Federal Prison Industries Corporation (FPI, also commonly referred to as UNICOR). We oppose this change because elimination of the mandatory sourcing program would likely end many prison work programs that are an important part of prisoner rehabilitation.
The ACLU supports prison labor programs, if they are run in a way that does not exploit inmates. Work programs are an important component of rehabilitation. Most prisoners have poor literacy skills and few job skills, and therefore a history of unemployment and crime. Programs that reduce illiteracy, allow prisoners to earn a high school diploma, and provide vocational training and work skills are beneficial to a prisoner's rehabilitation and have been shown to be very effective in decreasing recidivism. A program that provides real work experience can teach useful job skills and good work habits which will be vital to the ex-offender's reintegration into the community.
FPI runs effective and valuable rehabilitative programs. These programs help prisoners gain important life skills thereby decreasing recidivism, gives prisoners income which they can use to pay restitution to victims, fines to the government and money to their families. Eliminating the mandatory sourcing program, as mandated by H.R. 1577, would severely limit, if not completely destroy, FPI and these programs.
Currently, 22,560 prisoners are employed in the FPI. This accounts for 18% of the total Bureau of Prison inmate population. The FPI provides products exclusively to the federal government. Approximately 83 different classes of products and services are provided in eight areas including: electronics, clothing and textiles, service, vehicular components, office furniture, industrial products, recycled electronic products and graphics.
Proponents of H.R. 1577 make several arguments in support of the bill. Each will be discussed below.
Federal Prison Industries does not have an unfair competitive advantage.
The fact that inmates are paid low wages does not translate into low overall production costs. Only 7% of UNICOR's expenditures are for inmate pay; 73% goes to purchasing materials and supplies from vendors and 20% goes to staff salaries. All of these resources are returned to the private sector.
FPI faces a competitive disadvantage because it employs primarily prisoners. Inmates are generally unskilled and undereducated, and have limited work experience. They require more intensive supervision by civil service staff, which adds to production costs. Federal Prison Industries has a high turnover rate due to issues such as transfers of prisoners to other facilities, disciplinary removals and releases from prison. Any competitive advantage due to low inmate wages is compensated by the nature of the prison workforce.
Furthermore, if unions are concerned that FPI receives a competitive advantage from paying prisoners low wages, that concern could be addressed by paying prisoners the prevailing wage in that area.
Federal Prison Industries does not have a monopoly on sales to the federal government.
The mandatory source provision requires federal agencies to contact FPI first to determine whether an FPI product will meet their needs. If so, agencies are expected to buy from FPI. If not, customers may request a waiver. On average, 90% of waiver requests are approved.
The FPI produces products in 83 supply classes. In 65 of these categories, FPI total sales accounted for only 3% of all federal purchases. In only 12 classes did the FPI provide more than 20% of the market share.
Federal Prison Industries is not Displacing Private Sector Jobs
The FPI actually creates jobs. Three quarters of every FPI dollar goes to purchase material from 15,000 private sector vendors nationwide. Sixty-one percent of the purchases are made from small, minority, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses.
A 1996 analysis by FPI of office systems furniture sales concluded that FPI's sales resulted in more private sector jobs than would have been the case if the products were produced in the private sector. FPI gives the government a tremendous "bang for its buck."
Inmates in Federal Prison Industries are being taught marketable skills
The most important positive skill taught by FPI is a work ethic. The FPI has had a very positive impact on inmates. A major longitudinal research study conducted by the Bureau of Prisons concluded that inmates who worked in FPI while in custody were substantially more likely upon release to be employed and earning higher wages and were 24% less likely to be engaged in criminal behavior. Reductions in recidivism can have enormous impact on public safety, criminal justice costs, reimbursement to victims and strengthened family ties.
Instead of cutting back on prison industry, Congress should be passing legislation to provide greater opportunities for prison employment. We urge the Committee to reject this proposal.
We urge support of measures that would increase rehabilitative opportunities for inmates.
We urge the committee to consider programs that would increase rehabilitative opportunities for prisoners or increase their access to educational programs. Ultimately, money spent on rehabilitation will be a good long-term investment because it will decrease recidivism and increase the prospects of the prisoner returning to society with the skills necessary to make a positive contribution.
Sincerely,
Laura Murphy, Director
Washington National Office
American Civil Liberties Union
Rachel King
Legislative Counsel
American Civil Liberties Union
Cc: House Judiciary Committee Members