U.S. Congress - Ellison-Rush FCC Prison Phone Rate Cap Letter, 2017
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Qtnugrcez of liFt lIlnilcb ~lalca 3lNas1~htgtnn, 9DGt 20515 February 16, 2017 The Honorable Ajit Pai Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Pai: We write to express our disappointment with the decision made by the FCC to end the defense of intrastate rate caps for incarcerated individuals. Prior to the caps on prison phone rates, making calls to loved ones was a financial burden for many Americans who are paying upwards of $1.50 per minute. Most families depend on these phone calls to maintain the vital relationships their incarcerated loved ones will depend on when they are released. In fact, 70 percent of incarcerated people kept in contact with their loved ones over the phone, rather than in person.’ In 2012, the FCC placed a limit on what companies could charge for interstate phone calls. However, this limit does not apply for phone calls made within a state, intrastate calls, which can still be too high and represent the bulk of phone calls made from correctional facilities. Capping rates for calls within a state is an essential piece in fixing our nation’s broken incarceration system. Evidence suggests that greater connection to family and loved ones leads to lower rates of recidivism. Maintaining access to telecommunication is particularly important for millions of American families as of 2015, 2.7 million children in the United States have an incarcerated parent.2 Affordable phone calls are important for keeping our families strong and our communities safe. We urge you and Commissioner O’Reilly to reconsider your decision on this matter. Sincerely, eta Keith Ellison Member of Congress Bobby Rush Member of Congress PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER / V _114A a Don Beyer Member of Congris - Su /e Bonamici Member of Congress Qln& / Judy Chu Member of Congress e Clarke Member of Congress S ye Cohen Member of Congress Elijar/l. Cummings Me ‘er of Congress a 4 - I qLa4cw / —‘-‘ Danny ~ I avis Member of Congress A / Luis V. Gut rez Member of Congress “4 -. ewis ‘er of Congress —a / / Hakeem Jeifries ~‘ Member of Congress tI__ Barbara Lee Member of Congress N. ~. _d M. G alva Member of Congre fit— Ro Khanna Member of Congress I - ~mes P. McGovern Member of Congress a / a V Jerry 0 c e~j .~Fbngress — Cedric L. Richmond Member of Congress at _ ~j/ss__’ Gwen Moor-a Member of Con:ress ‘ Mark Pocan Member of Cong~ess 40~ ~.è’AsL_t a~ ie Raskin mber of Congress Jof E. Serrano mber of Congress ..at~. Schakowsky -mber of Congress V I arkTakano F Member of Congress -‘-a-a Bonnie Watson Coleman Member of Congress CC: hn Yarmuth ember of Co ress Mignon Clybum, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission Michael O’Reilly, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission [1] https:ffecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1 0113804521 853/Comments%2Oof%20ICS%2oAdvocates %20-%2OAs%2oSubmitted.pdf [2] https://www.prisonpolicyorg/reports/prisonvisitshtml
