[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H5791-H5792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1910
CELL PHONE CONTRABAND ACT OF 2010
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the Senate bill (S. 1749) to amend title 18, United States Code,
to prohibit the possession or use of cell phones and similar wireless
devices by Federal prisoners, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cell Phone Contraband Act of
2010''.
SEC. 2. WIRELESS DEVICES IN PRISON.
Section 1791 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``or (d)(1)(E)'' and
inserting ``, (d)(1)(E), or (d)(1)(F)''; and
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``(d)(1)(F)'' and
inserting ``(d)(1)(G)''; and
(2) in subsection (d)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G);
and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
``(F) a phone or other device used by a user of commercial
mobile service (as defined in section 332(d) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d))) in connection
with such service; and''.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.
Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to
Congress with research and findings on the following issues:
(1) A study of telephone rates within Federal prisons to
include information on interstate, intrastate and collect
calls made by prisoners, including--
(A) the costs of operating inmate telephone services;
(B) the general cost to prison telephone service providers
of providing telephone services to the Federal prisons;
(C) the revenue obtained from inmate telephone systems;
(D) how the revenue from these systems is used by the
Bureau of Prisons; and
(E) options for lowering telephone costs to inmates and
their families, while still maintaining sufficient security.
(2) A study of selected State and Federal efforts to
prevent the smuggling of cell phones and other wireless
devices into prisons, including efforts that selected State
and Federal authorities are making to minimize trafficking of
cell phones by guards and other prison officials and
recommendations to reduce the number of cell phones that are
trafficked into prisons.
(3) A study of cell phone use by inmates in selected State
and Federal prisons, including--
(A) the quantity of cell phones confiscated by authorities
in selected State and Federal prisons; and
(B) the reported impact, if any, of (1) inmate cell phone
use on the overall security of prisons and (2) connections to
criminal activity from within prisons.
SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH PAYGO.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of
Representatives, provided that such statement has been
submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Cell Phone Contraband Act of 2010 will address an
ongoing problem of cell phones being smuggled into prisons by visitors
and prison guards. Prison inmate cell phone accessibility has resulted
in offenders facilitating and committing crimes with the use of the
cell phones. Gangs have also become far more organized because members
in prison have cell phone access.
S. 1749 amends Federal law to make cell phones and similar devices
contraband that Federal prisoners are prohibited from possessing. Some
have argued that cell phone smuggling is a direct reaction to the
outrageous costs inmates and their families pay for telephone calls
while a person is incarcerated. Prisons and jails require that inmates
call their families collect or pay for calls with their prison
accounts. And, indeed, phone companies charge much more for calls from
prisons than
[[Page H5792]]
they charge for calls made from outside prison. For example, one
organization found that a 15-minute collect call made from San Quentin
Prison to Oakland, both in California, would cost $5; whereas, the same
collect call made from outside the prison would be about $2.55. That's
for a collect call. It would be even cheaper if a reliable way were
established for inmates to pay for their own calls.
S. 1749 requires the GAO to study the issue of exorbitant prison
telephone rates and the gulf between those rates as the first step to
finally bringing those rates down to reasonable levels so that inmates
and their families have a much easier time staying in touch. In
addition, the study will look at State and Federal efforts to prevent
smuggling of cell phones into prisons and jails.
Although we should not allow prisoners to have access to cell phones
while incarcerated, it is appropriate to provide them with telephone
service at reasonable rates in order for them to maintain ties with
their families and children.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
The use of illegal cell phones by prisoners is on the rise. In
California, for example, news stories report that the number of cell
phones confiscated in prisons doubled from 2007 to 2008. In 2008, over
2,800 cell phones were found in California, but more than 2,800 were
found just in the first 6 months of 2009. The Alabama Department of
Corrections found more than 3,000 cell phones in 2009. In fact, there
were more cell phones than any other type of contraband found in all of
Alabama prisons.
Other State prison systems are experiencing the same increase in the
number of contraband cell phones. As a result, many States are
considering legislation that specifically prohibits prisoners from
possessing cell phones in State prisons.
S. 1749 takes a step in the same direction at the Federal level. S.
1749, the Cell Phone Contraband Act of 2010, does two things. First,
the bill makes it a crime for Federal prisoners to possess cell phones.
Second, the bill directs the GAO to study the cost and use of landlines
and smuggled cell phones in Federal and selected State prisons and
jails.
This legislation is timely. Inmates use smuggled cell phones to
coordinate drug deals on the outside, also, gang violence and other
crimes, all committed outside the prison by use of smuggled cell phones
to coordinate this activity that are used in the prison system.
Last year, an inmate in Maryland was accused of using a cell phone to
arrange a murder of a witness who had testified against him at a trial.
And in 2008, a condemned murderer on death row in my home State of
Texas used a smuggled cell phone to threaten a State senator. That
State senator happened to be the chairman of the Criminal Justice
Committee in the State senate. Since that time, at least nine death row
inmates in Texas were found to be in possession of contraband cell
phones.
I don't personally think that inmates should have such open access to
cell phones at all in State prisons.
To get more data on this issue, S. 1749 directs the General
Accountability Office, or the GAO, to study the costs and revenues
associated with the operation of landline telephones in the prison
system. The study will examine select State and Federal efforts to
prevent the smuggling of cell phones and other wireless devices into
prisons, including efforts made to minimize trafficking of cell phones
by prison guards, who are the number one source of getting cell phones
in the penitentiary, and also other officials.
News stories report that prison guards are a major means in which
cell phones are smuggled into prison, and prisoners pay anywhere from
$300 for a normal cell phone and up to $1,000 for the smartphone. A
prison guard in California made $100,000 just dealing in cell phones in
the penitentiary.
It's my hope and expectation that the GAO study will help Congress
and the States in the effort to combat the smuggling of cell phones
into penitentiaries.
I support S. 1749. I'm also a cosponsor of another piece of
legislation dealing with this specific issue, H.R. 560, the Safe
Prisons Communications Act of 2009. This was introduced by my colleague
from the Woodlands, Texas, area, Kevin Brady. This bill would allow the
State or the Federal Bureau of Prisons to petition the FCC to permit
them to use devices that jam cell phone signals within the prison
boundary. Prisoners would then have no use for a smuggled cell phone as
they would not work within the prison confinement. Along with making
cell phone possession a crime, I believe Congress should also look at
Mr. Brady's bill, H.R. 560, as a way to prevent the use of cell phones
in the penitentiary.
I urge all Members to support S. 1749.
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, no one disagrees prisoners shouldn't
have cell phones. Prisons ban them already. But some prisoners have a
habit of getting around the rules--even if it's a federal crime. And
it's a dangerous problem. In Texas, we've had cases where prisoners on
death row made threatening calls to victims, prosecutors and their
families.
Senator Feinstein's bill takes a baby step--but little more. We need
to give our prison officials a more reliable weapon. The answer is
allowing them to use devices that jam the cell signals--making it
impossible for the phones to even work.
We have the technology to do this and do it in a way that doesn't
interfere with legitimate use--such as for communities that live
nearby.
I've introduced legislation, H.R. 560, the Safe Prisons
Communications Act, that would create a process whereby a State or
prison could petition the FCC to allow them to use the jamming devices,
which are currently prohibited. This bill would save lives, and give
our prisons the tools they need to really combat this problem.
I ask my House colleagues to support bringing my legislation to the
floor.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Cell Phone
Contraband Act.
The illegal use of wireless phones in prisons is a serious problem.
Smuggled cell phones are used by prisoners to maintain connections with
their criminal enterprises beyond prison walls and even to commit
crimes from within prison.
A recent Washington Post article reported the following incidents:
A drug dealer behind bars in Maryland used a phone to arrange to have
a witness assassinated outside his home last summer.
In Kansas, a convicted killer sneaked out of prison after planning
the 2006 escape using a cell phone smuggled by an accomplice. The
following year, two inmates escaped another Kansas prison with the help
of a former guard and a smuggled cell phone.
California prison officials confiscated about 2,800 cell phones
statewide in 2008, double the number discovered the year before.
The Cell Phone Contraband Act makes it a crime for Federal prisoners
to possess cell phones while incarcerated. The bill also directs the
GAO to study the cost and use of landlines and smuggled cell phones in
Federal and selected State prisons and jails. The study will
additionally examine selected State and Federal efforts to prevent the
smuggling of cell phones and other wireless devices into prisons,
including efforts made to minimize trafficking of cell phones by prison
guards and other officials.
This is a commonsense bill to ensure that when criminals are locked
up, their ability to harm citizens is completely cut off. This
legislation will send a strong signal to those that either smuggle or
receive contraband cell phones that they will be held accountable.
Mr. POE of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support
the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 1749, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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