"Notes from Nancy" is an occasional column for this website. Each edition addresses an issue of importance to the Kansas Second Congressional District.

When most of us think about law enforcement, we imagine police patrolling the streets, or we think of lawyers and judges in a courtroom. But there's another chapter to the law enforcement story. Once a criminal has been caught, tried, and convicted in federal court, the U.S. prison system is charged with detaining him -- sometimes for the rest of his life.

Just as Congress talks about supporting our police, we need to talk about supporting our prisons.  Since 1980, the population of inmates in federal prisons has increased from 24,000 to almost 200,000 -- an 830% increase. Unfortunately, funding hasn't increased nearly that fast, and too many facilities system-wide are facing staffing shortages.

Frankly, that isn't right. We cannot claim to be tough on crime and neglect our prisons. Congress must provide enough funding to the Bureau of Prisoners to ensure the safety of our guards and the security of our prisons.

Shortfalls in prison funding are an important issue all across America, but they're especially important here in the Kansas Second Congressional District, which serves as home to a major military barracks and a U.S. penitentiary, as well as state and local prisons.

In light of Kansas' important role in securing America's prisoners, I recently authored the attached letter to the House Appropriations Committee to request increased funding for the Bureau of Prisons. My office rallied support on Capitol Hill, and seven other Members of Congress signed on.  Together, we requested $427 million over 2007 for the Bureau of Prison’s "salaries and expenses" account and $410 million for the "buildings and facilities" account.  If approved, these funds will represent a major step toward improving prison security nationwide.

Congress cannot remove all of the risk from the job of guarding a prison. Risk will always accompany any law enforcement duty. But Congress can and should provide the resources to help our guards do their jobs as safely as possible.