Clyburn Calls on FCC To Finish Job of Cutting Inmate Calling Rates
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the FCC must complete its work on cutting the high cost of calls from those in correctional facilities. The FCC approved interim caps on interstate inmate calling service (ICS) rates in August 2013, when Clyburn was acting chairwoman (see 1308120049), but is now considering further actions to drive down many intrastate rates. The FCC considered placing an ICS draft order on the agenda for the Aug. 6 meeting, but it now may act on the item at its Sept. 17 meeting, industry officials told us.
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“We made a critical first step two years ago, but that did not solve the bulk of the problem for the majority of the 2.7 million children who are struggling to maintain contact with their incarcerated parent,” Clyburn said in remarks Thursday to the National Urban League. “The poorest of families, friends and legal aid lawyers are shelling out $400 and $500 a month to keep in touch with their loved ones and provide support for their clients.”
Clyburn said many inmates are unable to stay connected with their communities, and then they “go home as strangers,” which she’s convinced “plays a role in the fact that 75 percent of those released” are back in prison within five years. “I may not be able to stop every inmate from reoffending, but I can and will do my part … so that cost will not be the main barrier for families, friends and lawyers when it comes to maintaining contact with those who are incarcerated," she said. "The time is now for us to stop ignoring this problem. The time is now for you to push the FCC to finish what it started.”
Inmate calling service providers, correctional authorities and others continue to battle as they lobby the FCC and submit filings in docket 12-375. CenturyLink noted that Pay-Tel Communications and an Alabama Public Service Commission official had proposed to cap ICS rates from (federal and state) prisons as low as 8 cents per minute, while proposing a much higher cap for inmate calls from (local) jails. “Such a low rate cap for inmate calls from prisons would be grossly unrealistic in light of the costs of providing these services,” CenturyLink said. “It would make provision [of ICS] at prisons uneconomic … . An $0.08 per minute rate would be significantly below CenturyLink’s costs of providing service at the vast majority of the prisons it serves, even ignoring the legitimate expectations of correctional institutions for commissions or administrative cost recovery.” Federal and state prisons tend to be larger than local jails -- which some argue affects cost structures and should affect rates -- but there are exceptions, fanning the cost and rate arguments.
Securus Technologies, another major ICS provider, urged the FCC to reject Pay-Tel’s broader proposals as well. The proposed rules “are an attempt to prevent the ICS industry from innovating,” Securus said. “Pay Tel asks the Commission to micromanage the technological evolution of ICS service and the technological choices of correctional facilities. The Commission has neither the resources nor, in most instances, the authority to engage in that activity.”
Pay-Tel had summarized various elements that it believes are necessary for comprehensive ICS reform, in a recent filing: “A tiered rate for jails to preserve service to the nation's small and medium jails; the elimination of many ancillary fees and reasonable caps on select, permissible ancillary fees (and on single call programs); a facility cost recovery fee that is added as an explicit component of ICS rates (as a component of a regulatory structure that prohibits providers from paying other forms of compensation); and ensuring that ICS consumers do not pay for integrated services out of ICS rates.”
The Human Rights Defense Center criticized the “arbitrary, incomplete and inconsistent filings” of some parties. The HRDC said proposed ICS rate caps for jails are too high, and it opposes a tiered ICS rate structure based on facility size, which would be arbitrary and was contradicted by “real-world examples” it cited in its filing. “We also oppose any 'cost recovery' fees for correctional agencies, as any costs associated with the provision of ICS by prisons and jails are part of their routine operational expenses that should be borne by all taxpayers, not just prisoners and their families,” the group said. “Lastly, we reiterate our position that ICS rates should be capped at $.05/min. for all types of calls, and note that at least 8 state [Departments of Corrections] already charge ICS rates at or below that level. We further call on the Commission to abolish ICS ancillary fees, which serve as another unjustified way to price gouge prisoners and their families; unless the issue of fees is addressed, any rate caps will be easily circumvented. The above changes should go into effect within 60 days of the FCC’s order being issued.”