FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Thursday issued an impassioned critique...
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Thursday issued an impassioned critique of high prison long distance rates. Rates of more than $1 a minute are “taking an unbelievable toll, particularly on grandmothers raising their children’s children,” she told a luncheon at…
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a telecom seminar run by the Practising Law Institute in cooperation with the Federal Communications Bar Association. Clyburn has been a vocal opponent of high prison phone rates (CD Sept 26 p5). Families can’t easily travel for in-person visits, and high prison phone rates are “resulting in further isolation, further outside collections, and even more broken families,” she said. This issue is about the more than two million children who have “unconditional love for that incarcerated parent,” and elderly parents who have to choose between medicine, home heating, and talking to a child in prison, she said. It’s also important to societies at large, because studies show communication between family and friends lead to lower recidivism rates, which leads to fewer tax dollars spent housing prisoners, she said. A rulemaking notice is circulating on the Wright petition, which sought lower prison phone rates (CD Nov 15 p15). Jesse Jackson and others from his Rainbow PUSH Coalition told Clyburn the group is very concerned about the rates many prisoners have to pay to talk to the outside world. “Rev. Jackson expressed his concern about predatory prison telephone rates and indicated that the issue will be a major focus for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in the months ahead,” said an ex parte filing on the meeting (http://xrl.us/bn6bt3). Jackson “asked about steps that are being taken within the agency to address the problem,” the filing said. “It became clear that, while the FCC can have an impact on interstate rates, it has very little jurisdiction on intrastate calling rates."