Byrd Leads Successful Fight for McDowell Federal Prison Funds

The Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday gave a “green light” to a federal prison project for McDowell County rejecting a White House cancellation request on the project.

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., also succeeded Thursday in securing an additional $89 million in building funds for the prison – enough to complete the actual construction of the project pending final congressional approval. The measure now moves to and still requires approval in the full Senate.

“The White House, for reasons never explained, sought to cancel the funding for the McDowell County prison, despite the progress on the prison by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, despite the environmental approval already completed, despite the strong need for additional federal prison space, and despite the overwhelming support for this facility in McDowell County ,” Byrd said. “We went to work. We rolled up our sleeves. And today, I'm proud to report the Senate Appropriations Committee has given the green light to the prison and rejected the White House cancellation request.”

Byrd, who was joined by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., spearheaded the effort to fight the White House cancellation, crafting a coalition of Democratic and Republican senators who supported the project, Byrd spokesman Tom Gavin said.

Thanks to Senator Byrd's efforts today, the McDowell prison project that we've worked on for so long is much closer to realization,” Rockefeller said. “We have been able to thwart the administration's efforts to kill this project so that we can bring this pipeline of jobs and economic windfall to McDowell County and southern West Virginia .

“Senator Byrd is a man of his word,” U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said. “When the White House, in its budget request of the Congress, unveiled plans to eliminate the $142 million already set aside for the design and construction for the federal McDowell County prison, Sen. Byrd vowed to fight to restore these promised funds. Well, he has not only cleared this hurdle, he's soared high over it stopping the rescission in committee action and even securing an additional $89 million for this important investment in our state's future.”

The good news came on the same day that county officials signed over 400 acres of land at the Indian Ridge Industrial Park to representatives of the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the project.

“We are proud of Sen. Byrd,” Rachel Lester, the county's economic development coordinator said. “We knew he would make it happen. We knew it would happen with his leadership. This is going to make a huge impact in McDowell County . It is going to create jobs, bring in new human resources and the spin-off on this is just going to be phenomenal.”

With the good news in Washington Thursday, construction on the federal prison should now begin as early as October, commissioner Carl Urps said.

“Yeah – that's terrific news,” Urps said. “We've always had confidence in Sen. Byrd. That's just another example of what his seniority and his power means to us here in West Virginia . He and Congressman Rahall and Sen. Rockefeller have fought hard for us.”

During a brief ceremony Thursday, the county commission signed over 400 acres of land at the industrial park in Welch to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the construction of a 1,280 bed federal prison planned near the proposed interchange site of the Coalfields Expressway and the King Coal Highway.

--Charles Owens (Bluefield Telegraph)