Ashcroft warns of the impact of Senate budget cuts in the federal prison system:

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Attorney General John Ashcroft have raised serious objections to the Senate spending plan for their departments, saying the measure could undermine American counterterrorism efforts and diplomacy. The concerns raised by the two cabinet officials over the $37 billion spending proposal add new complications to the push by Republican Congressional leaders to wrap up the remaining appropriations bills, now almost a month overdue. The House and Senate are preparing this week to pass another temporary spending bill that would keep all federal agencies open past Friday, when the current stopgap measure expires.

In separate letters to House leaders this month, Mr. Powell and Mr. Ashcroft said the spending proposal now awaiting Senate action would hinder the work of their departments, result in layoffs, and, in the case of the federal prison system, lead to the closing of some units and crowding at others.

"We do not directly control the number of inmates that enter into our prison system," wrote Mr. Ashcroft. "An overall reduction of the magnitude included in the Senate bill — approximately $270 million below the request — would have a dramatic adverse impact on the staff and inmate safety at existing facilities." (emphasis supplied by us)

As one of TalkLeft's most astute readers emails us:

Gee, John, do you think that perhaps the Department's history of pushing for increased sentencing guidelines, fighting departures, mandatory minimums, etc., might have something to do with the number of inmates in the prison system? The chickens come home to roost.