Prison Phone Justice

FRED UPTON, M ICH IGAN

HENR Y A. WAXMAN, CALIFORN IA

CHAI RMAN

RANK ING MEMBER

ONE HUNDRED 1WELFTH CO NGRE SS

~tates
T!,louS'e of l\epreS'entattbeS'

(!Congress of tbe Wniteb

COMM ITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
2125 R AYBURN H OUSE O FFICE BUILDING
W AS HINGTON , DC 20515- 6115
Majority (202) 225-2927
Minority (202) 225-3641

September 12, 20 12
The Honorab le Julius Genachowski
Chairman
Federal Co mmuni cations Commi ssion
445 12'h Street, S.W.
Washington, D,C, 20554
Dear Chai rman Genacho wsk i:
We write in regard to a matter that has been pending at the Federal Conununicati ons
ConUlli ss ion (FCC) for close to a decade: the exorbitant rates that the families of prisoners pay
to communicate wi th an incarcerated family member. Although thi s issue has been the subject of
several round s of notice and comment, as we ll as legislati on introduced by Rep , Rush during the
IIO lh Congress, the FCC has yet to take final action. We urge yo u to do so as soon as possible,
Research shows that regular contact between prisoners and family members during
incarcerati on reduces recidi vism, I Phone call s are the primary means for families to maintain
contact with incarcerated relati ves. Experts across the political spectrum have recommended
minimizing the cost of prison phone calls as a way to support strong fa mily relationships with
ilUllates 2 Yet under current poli cies and practices, pri soners and their families pay unusuall y
hi gh rates for phone service that di scourage regular contact. In fact, a one hour call fro m pri son
often costs as much as a month of unlimited home phone service.

I House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce , Posta l
Service, and the District of Colum bia, Testimony of Nancy G. La Vigne, Director, Justice Poli cy
Center, the Urban Institute, Hearing on Housin~ D.C. Code Felons Far Away From Home:
Effects on Crime, Recidivism, and Reenlly, I I 111 Congo (May 5, 20 I 0),
2 The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America ' s Pri sons, Conji'onting Confinement (June
2006).

T he Hono rabl e Julius Genaehowsk i
Septe mbe r 12,2 01 2
Page 2
When inmates and fa milies lose contact, soc iety ultimately pays the price. O ver 67% of
released pri soners a re rea rrested w ithin three years. At a time whe n the United States has the
highest per capita incarceratio n ra te in the world and spend s nearl y $58 billion per year to
manage it s pri son po pul ati on, we should be do ing more to reduce rec idi vism ]
The ex tremely hi gh cost of phone call s for pri so ne rs and the ir famili es led a gro up o f
a ffec ted indi viduals to seek relie f fi'om the FCC. That request, known as the Wri ght Petiti on, has
been befo re the Commissio n since 2003. Over fi ve years ago, the Wri ght petiti o ne rs proposed
rates that would ensure reasonable and afford a bl e pho ne service fo r inmates and their fa mili es
witho ut short-c hangi ng states, priso ns, and telephone service provi ders.
Rece ntl y, a coaliti on o f civil ri ghts groups and conservati ve leaders wrote the FCC asking
the agency to cap the rates charged fo r interstate pri so n pho ne ca ll s" T hi s di verse coa lition 01"
ad vocates came togethe r to urge FCC actio n because of their common view tha t cxo rbitant
pri son phone rates do nothing to further the safety of our society or help rehabi litate pri soners.'
In fac t, they conclude that a ll owing c urre nt prac ti ces to continue is not so und publi c po li cy6 T he
coa liti on also notes that it s proposed po li cy change will not unde rmine pri son securit y. 7
Earli er thi s week, the Pri so n Po licy Initi ati ve released a new repo rt o n the pri son phonc
system titl ed The Price 10 Call HOllie: Slale-Sanclioned Monop olizalion il1 lhe Prison Phone
InduslI )'8 T hi s study also concludes that hi gh pri son phone rates harm society both
economi ca ll y a nd soc iall y a nd recommends that the FCC approve the Wright Pet it ion a nd cap

Department o f Justi ce, Federal Prison Syslelll FY 2012 Budge l Requesl (online at
http ://www.justice.gov/jmd/20 12summary/pd f/ fy 12-bop-bud-summary. pd I) and Nati onal
Associati on o f State Budget Offi cers. Slale E'pendilure Rep0rl : Examining Fiscal 2009-2011
Slale Spending (online at
hit p:llwlvw. nasbo.org/sites/default/ fi les/20 I 0%20S tate%20 Ex pend i ture%20 Re port .pd I).
4 Lette r fro m the Lead ership Confe rence on C ivil and Huma n Ri ghts e t al. to Federal
Co mmuni cati o ns Commi ssion Chairma n Julius Genachowski (May 18, 20 12) .
5 As David Keene, Forme r chair o f the Ame rican Conservati ve Uni on stated : "Thi s ma kes no
sense. Thi s does no thing to fmther the safety o f civil soc ie ty. It does nothing to help re habi litate
those people who have been removed fro m that society as a result of c ri minal convictions. And
in fact. it ma kes it less likely tha t these peopl e will even be abl e to re integrate themse lves as
use ful citi zens." See The Leadership Confe rence o n C ivil and Hum an Ri ghts, In Joil1l Leller,
Leji, RighI, and Cenrer Urge FCC 10 End Praclice 0/ PredalOl), Prison Phone Rales (May 18.
201 2).
6 Id
7
1d
8 Priso n Po li cy Initiati ve, The Price 10 Call HOllie : Slale-SanClioned Monopolizalion in Ihe
Prison Phone Inc/uslI )' (Sept. II . 20 12).
J

The Honorabl e Julius Genachowski
September 12, 201 2
Page 3
pri son phone rates 9 Notabl y, the study asserts that lower prison telephone rates would lessen the
ongo ing security problem of contraband cell phones in pri sons. Accordingly, lowering pri son
tel ephone rates "would improve sa fety by providing less incenti ve for incarcerated peop le to
acquire contraband cell phones." 10
We encourage the FCC to move expediti ously to resol ve thi s issue. Thank you for your
anenti on to thi s man er.
Sincerely,

~~~
Henry A. Waxman

cc:

The Honorabl e Fred Upton
Chairman
The Honorable Robert M. McDowell
Commissioner
Federal Communications Commi ssion
The Honorable Mi gnon Clyburn
Commi ssioner
Federal Communications Commi ss ion
The Honorab le Jessica Rosenworcel
Commi ss ioner
Federa l Communications Commi ssion
The Honorabl e Ajit Pai
Commi ss ioner
Federal Communications Commission

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