On July 18, the Federal Communications Commission approved new rules to implement the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022​ and adopt just and reasonable rate caps for incarcerated people’s audio and video communications services, among other reforms. The following statement may be attributed to Mignon Clyburn, former FCC Acting Chairwoman and current Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Board of Directors Member:

Today marks a major milestone on the long road to right a market dysfunction that has wronged incarcerated persons and their loved ones for decades.  The Federal Communications Commission’s vote on Bringing Common Sense and Fairness to Correctional Facility Phone Rates will lower rates for voice phone calls including, perhaps most importantly, local and intrastate calls.  Among the many other long overdue reforms, the agency’s Report and Order will end kickbacks, euphemistically called “site commissions,” to carceral facilities.  No less significantly, the new measures are forward-looking, giving the FCC the power to regulate video calls and other emerging technologies.

During my tenure as Acting Chairwoman of the FCC, we stretched existing law as far as we could to provide some measure of relief for those wishing to maintain a connection, but not all those reforms survived judicial review. Clarifying legislation was necessary to put an end to these injustices, and my hat goes off to the tireless coalition of advocates—coordinated by Cheryl Leanza of the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry—who built support for enactment of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, and to Representative Yvette Clarke and Senator Tammy Duckworth for their tenacity and legislative skill in getting that bill through Congress. 

I have nothing but praise for Chairwoman Rosenworcel and her fellow Commissioners who moved this item forward, and the hard-working FCC staff for crafting forceful rules that are faithful to the goals of the new law. There will always be more work to do, but I have no doubt that the FCC will take prompt action to develop permanent rates for video calls and ensure that the quality of service provided to incarcerated persons and their families will be on par to what everyone else receives.

This week, I am reminded of the late Martha Wright-Reed’s insistence that she [and others similarly situated] should be able to communicate affordably with her grandson Ulandis Forte. I am thankful for the attention former Representative Bobby Rush gave to this issue, as well as Charlie and Pauline Sullivan with CURE, Color of Change, Media Justice, Prison Policy Initiative, Worth Rises, and the coalition that “recruited me” in the offices of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights some 12 years ago. We all remain eternally grateful for their passionate devotion to the cause.

Relentless public interest advocates worked to pave the way for today’s action: The sophisticated legal and economic analyses provided, pro bono, by my former Legal Advisor Rebekah Goodheart and her colleague Gregory Capobianco of Jenner and Block, and Coleman Bazelon and Paroma Sanyal of The Brattle Group. Countless Americans’ lives will be better because of their contributions.

Contact:

Andrew Jay Schwartzman

Benton Senior Counselor

andyschwartzman@gmail.com

202.241.2408

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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