U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) on Monday sent a letter to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen seeking to prevent the state of Alabama from using American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds from being appropriated toward Gov. Kay Ivey’s (R-AL) prison plan.
Ivey last week announced her proclamation calling for a special session of the Alabama State Legislature to address issues facing the state’s prison system. The proclamation paved the way for lawmakers to appropriate up to $400 million in funds received under the federally enacted American Rescue Plan, which was passed by Congress to financially combat lost revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This prompted Nadler’s letter to the treasury head, in which he called the state’s use of ARP funding a “direct contravention” of the law.
His letter states in part, “Directing funding meant to protect our citizens from a pandemic to fuel mass incarceration is, in direct contravention of the intended purposes of the ARP legislation and will particularly harm communities of color who are already disproportionately impacted by over-incarceration and this public health crisis.”
The New York congressman further requested that Yellen derail Ivey’s intention to appropriate ARP funding for the use of what he calls the “expansion” of Alabama’s prison system.
“Therefore, I ask that you take all appropriate steps to prevent the misuse of ARP funding by any state, including Alabama, that seeks to direct this financial assistance to the expansion of its prison system,” Nadler’s letter states.
Ivey took exception to Nadler’s singling out of her intention to use ARP funds to improve the state’s prison infrastructure, calling out the Manhattan-based congressman for his attempts to derail the “Alabama-driven” prison plan.
“The Democrat-controlled federal government has never had an issue with throwing trillions of dollars toward their ideological pet projects,” said Ivey. “Their political agenda is glaringly obvious to send a letter to the U.S. Treasury on the first day of our special session asking the federal government to ignore the laws they themselves wrote and to overstep our Alabama-driven plan.”
Currently facing a looming government shutdown with the possibility of defaulting on the nation’s debt, Ivey believes congressional Democrats should focus their priorities on “running the country” rather than intervening in state affairs. The governor also says Alabama is acting in compliance with ARP guidelines which state that funds can be utilized to offset lost revenue.
“I would suggest to the New York Congressman, and for that matter the federal government, that they worry more about avoiding the pending government shutdown and running the country,” she insisted. “The fact is, the American Rescue Plan Act allows these funds to be used for lost revenue and sending a letter in the last hour will not change the way the law is written.”
Ivey concluded by contending that Alabama elected officials hold the political will to address the state’s issues, something she believes Washington is incapable of regarding the federal government.
“These prisons need to be built, and we have crafted a fiscally conservative plan that will cost Alabamians the least amount of money to get to the solution required,” said Ivey. “While our prison infrastructure is broken, our ability to govern is not. Same can’t be said for D.C.”
Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper) slammed Nadler for seeking to intervene in Alabama’s handling of its prison plan, maintaining that the state is well within its legal authority to direct ARP funding toward prison infrastructure.
“We aren’t going to let a New York City politician tell Alabama what we can and cannot do,” said Reed. “These funds are intended to replace revenue lost as a result of the pandemic, and is clearly eligible for prison construction.”
The senate leader suggested “Washington liberals” should place priority on addressing the many crises facing the nation and not intrude upon the state of Alabama’s governing operations.
“We are in a special session right now to protect the people of Alabama from a costly federal intervention, and I really couldn’t care less about the opinion of Washington liberals,” he added. “They should focus more on runaway inflation, the crisis at our Southern border, the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, and focus less on trying to score political points with their base by budding into Alabama’s business.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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