COLUMBUS — The state should try to keep the Orient Correctional Institution open by housing federal inmates in the central Ohio prison, two Republican House leaders said Wednesday in a letter to Gov. Bob Taft.

        The plan could save the majority of the 533 jobs that could be lost by closing the prison, as proposed by state prisons director Reginald Wilkinson last week. Budget cuts ordered by Mr. Taft led to the closing.

        The cuts were necessary because of a $1.5 billion shortfall in state revenues projected during the current two-year budget cycle, Mr. Taft said. Closing the prison could save the state $19 million.

        Mr. Taft, a fellow Republican, should explore placing federal prisoners at Orient, which housed 1,747 inmates at the time the closing was announced, Speaker Larry Householder of Glenford and House Finance Committee Chairman John Carey of Wellston wrote. The state plans to move those inmates to other prisons.

        “We need to do everything possible to save jobs. An agreement with the federal government could also negate other costs for the state, such as loss of tax revenue and unemployment compensation,” they wrote.

        Taft spokesman Joe Andrews said the governor had not seen the letter and declined to comment.

        Mr. Householder and Mr. Carey also have asked U.S. Sens. Mike DeWine and George Voinovich and U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, whose district includes the prison, for help. All are Republicans.

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