by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - Following a report of a confirmed case of tuberculosis at the Department of Corrections, Senator Brant McCreadie is calling on Senator Ben Pangelinan to immediately report out Bill 172 also known as the "Department of Corrections Construction Initiative Act of 2013" from his committee. Senator McCreadie introduced the legislation in August of last year. After months of sitting with Senator Pangelinan's Committee on Appropriations he finally scheduled a public hearing on the measure in December. Since the public hearing it's been sitting idle in Pangelinan's committee. Inquiries made with Sen. Pangelinan by Sen. McCreadie's office regarding the delay of the legislation have gone unanswered. "This is not the time to be playing politics or to stop progress. This is a time to work together and find an immediate solution to an imperative public safety problem," said Sen. McCreadie. "If there is ever a time to work together on this bi-partisan initiative, it is now. We have talked about the dark cloud of receivership before with no action. Now we have a major health issue, an infectious disease, in an overcrowded prison environment," McCreadie added.