Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined fellow Republicans today in opposing the purchase of an Illinois prison by the Department of Justice.
Wolf contends the purchase amounts to an earmark because of Durbin's request, even though the funds will be expended by administration directive.
"President Obama's unprecedented directive to Attorney General Holder to circumvent Congress to purchase Thomson prison is deeply troubling," Wolf said. "It directly violates the clear objection of the House Appropriations Committee and goes against the bipartisan objections of members in the House and Senate, who have noted that approving this request would allow Thomson to take precedence over previously funded prisons in Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia and New Hampshire."
Wolf's Senate counterpart, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), has supported the project.
Holder said the $165 million for the prison facility would come from several Justice Department accounts, with the vast majority from the Asset Forfeiture Fund.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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