Representative Elise Stefanik has called on federal officials to raise pay for correctional officers at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ray Brook, citing soaring living costs in New York’s North Country.
In a letter to the Office of Personnel Management, Stefanik urged Director Scott Kupor to update the region’s pay classification and match it with the higher New York City locality rate. She said the move would address recruitment challenges and reflect the economic pressures officers face.
“As the Representative for New York’s 21st Congressional District, I have heard directly from correctional officers and staff at FCI Ray Brook who are struggling with the growing gap between their compensation and the state’s rapidly rising cost of living,” Stefanik wrote.
She said the “rest of the United States” pay rate, currently applied to Ray Brook, fails to match New York’s spike in housing, energy, and property taxes. Stefanik blamed the state’s affordability crisis on Governor Kathy Hochul and what she described as “Far Left New York Democrats.”
“This disparity has placed an enormous financial burden on law enforcement officers,” Stefanik said. “They have been under constant attack by the Hochul Administration.”
She argued that adjusting the pay scale would ease staffing shortages and restore equity. “It would also bring fairness and parity to a workforce that, despite working in rural areas, is subject to many of the same economic pressures as those in higher-compensated metropolitan regions,” Stefanik stated.
Citing FCI Otisville, which receives the New York City pay rate despite similar conditions, Stefanik said the same standard should apply to Ray Brook. She called for a thorough OPM review of local cost data and a revised pay schedule.
“Doing so would not only improve workforce morale and stability but also ensure that these law enforcement officers receive the support and compensation they have earned,” she concluded.
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