Federal funding granted to Leavenworth penitentiary

Full funding has been approved by Congress to go toward construction of a new Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) and a satellite Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Leavenworth, according to a Tuesday news release from U.S. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran’s office.

The new facilities will replace older buildings at the U.S. Penitentiary and help modernize the Leavenworth prison system. The U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth is receiving $356 million to complete these construction projects and has not released an expected start date for the groundbreaking.

“This project will bring the Leavenworth prison system into the 21st century, while also providing hundreds of jobs during the multi-year construction of the facilities. At a time when federal prisons are closing around the country, this project will secure jobs for Kansans for decades,” Sen. Moran said. Moran is also the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.

According to a Monday news release from Sen. Moran’s office, Congress appropriated $175 million for the project in fiscal year 2019 and another $181 million in fiscal year 2020, which is set to end on Sept. 30.

“This is one of the largest federal projects undertaken in Kansas in the last few years, and I will continue to work with the city of Leavenworth and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to get this project to completion,” Sen. Moran continued in the release.