Kentucky county upbeat about chances to land federal prison

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – A Kentucky county’s efforts to become home to a federal prison appear to be improved with congressional approval of a budget that includes more than $400 million for such a facility.

The Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/1T8vXQy ) reports the budget approved Friday does not specify the money must be used to build a prison in Letcher County. But local officials say the proposal for a prison in the Appalachian county is farther along in the review process than any others in the nation.

Letcher County’s effort has a powerful ally in U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, who heads the House Appropriations Committee.

Rogers worked to include money for a new federal prison in the budget. The Republican congressman called members of the Letcher County Planning Commission to let them know about the appropriation.

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.