2011 Budget Gives Federal Prisons $528M

"As states cut their budgets by closing prisons and diverting some offenders to probation and treatment programs, the federal government is proposing to dramatically ramp up its detention operations," USA Today reported.

The article continues: "The Obama administration's $3.8 trillion 2011 budget proposal calls for a $527.5 million infusion for the federal Bureau of Prisons and judicial security — $227 million more than the proposed increase to Justice's national security program. The boost would bring the total Bureau of Prisons budget to $6.8 billion."

Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, said states have a "greater sense of urgency" to reform their laws in an effort to address budget deficits.

"That sense of urgency isn't there at the federal level," he said. "Prison expansion slows the momentum for the reconsideration of some of those policies."