Letcher Prison has the potential to be the most expensive federal prison in U.S. history and Representative Hal Rogers (KY-05) just made it more difficult to fight back. 

Rogers has successfully inserted a toxic rider — Section 223 — into the 2025 House Appropriations bill to fund this prison project and silence anyone who dares to oppose it. This rider would block legal challenges from anyone outside Eastern Kentucky, even though this $505 million prison would be funded with your federal tax dollars and could incarcerate people from anywhere in the country. This is grossly unjust and unfair — if it’s our money, we should have a say.

It is important to note that this toxic policy rider is a non-budgetary measure that has no place in an appropriations bill. Appropriations bills are intended to fund the government, not advance policy changes through the back door of the budget process.

This prison is extremely unpopular across all walks of life. The DOJ recommends rescinding the funding, and Both Presidents Biden and Trump 1 and 2.0 have opposed it. Local residents, community advocates, and even corrections experts have spoken out against it. But Rep. Rogers is still trying to ram it through by changing the rules to silence the rest of us.

At a time when the BOP is crumbling under the weight of staffing shortages, unsafe conditions, and billions in deferred maintenance — and when the U.S. prison population has dropped by 25% since its 2009 peak — why pour over half a billion dollars into a new prison we don’t need?

We need your voice NOW. Tell your congressperson to reject Section 223 which blocks our voice in the fight against this monster prison. It's time we invest in real community safety — not mass incarceration.