A plan to beef up federal prison rehabilitation programs being pushed by President Trump and congressional leaders from both parties will cost taxpayers $346 million over the next 10 years, says the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), McClatchy Newspapers reports. If approved by Congress, the measure is expected to reduce the number of federal prisoners by 53,000. The Bureau of Prisons estimates there are 180,000 federal inmates. Most reductions would occur in the first year, due to the laws retroactive sentencing changes.
Texas implemented similar reforms to its state prison system more than a decade ago, saving more than $4 billion between 2006 and 2016, says the criminal justice reform advocacy group Right on Crime. Those savings — after an initial investment of $241 million in rehabilitation programs — have served as the inspiration for similar reform efforts in states like Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina. “This all started because people wanted to save money,” says Mark Holden, general counsel for Koch Industries,a major proponent of the reforms. “They came for the savings but they stayed for the salvation,” Holden said of the states that followed Texas’ lead. The CBO report chalked up the price tag of the federal bill up to the release of federal prisoners who could soon take advantage of government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Right on Crime’s Marc Levin said that the CBO’s report did not factor in federal taxes the released prisoners would pay if they get jobs. The CBO also did not assess savings from recidivism reduction, something Texas and other states have experienced since implementing their reforms, said Levin. He suggested as well that fewer prison staffers could be necessary after incarceration rates decrease.