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The initiative forms a part of a substantial billion-dollar plan aimed at renovating “deteriorating detention facilities” and increasing salaries for correctional officers.
The proposal highlights, “This budget level also reinforces the President’s dedication to transforming Alcatraz into a cutting-edge, secure prison facility, allocating $US152 million ($A220 million) to fund the initial year of development.”
Given its island location, all supplies, including fresh water, had to be transported to the prison by boat.
Over the years, exposure to the salty air significantly deteriorated the infrastructure during its operational period.
The expenses to run the prison were more than three times higher than those of a comparable facility in Atlanta, calculated on a per-inmate basis.
“Trump is once again proposing to destroy Alcatraz — a globally popular tourist attraction — by wasting billions to turn it into some sort of prison gulag,” Wiener said.
“It’s an absurd, idiotic idea, a complete waste of taxpayer money, and yet another sign of Trump’s dementia.”
“When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm,” he wrote.
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be.
“That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
Trump’s budget proposal also included a 50 per cent increase in defence spending, taking it to more than $A2.1 trillion.
“Every dollar we spend on Trump’s wars is a dollar that could go toward more affordable healthcare, childcare, housing and more,” top Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen said.
“We cannot let this pass.”
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