[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16339-16340]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            SITE COMMISSIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 21, 2015

  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit a letter that I and my 
colleagues sent to the FCC asking for an end to site commissions.
  Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the FCC will finally take action to reform 
prison telephone rates also known as Inmate Calling Services. This 
action is long overdue. The inmate calling service industry is a 
monopoly with less than three dominant players. Basically, each 
correctional facility contracts with one of the big players to be an 
exclusive service provider. While there is a bidding process, the 
companies typically agree to pay a percentage of their profits back to 
the department in exchange for the contract. (an average of 48 percent 
according to Prison Legal News). Simply, the company that can offer the 
largest ``Kickbacks'' wins the contract. This is purely ``reverse 
competition''. Operating without regulation or proper oversight this 
shadowy industry has taken advantage of millions of families and their 
loved ones.
  I must mention two citizens critical in my education on this process. 
First is Charlie Sullivan of CURE a tireless prison reform advocate who 
approached me over 10 years ago

[[Page 16340]]

about this injustice. The second is Ms. Martha Wright, a grandmother, 
who in 2003 filed a class action lawsuit against these unscrupulous 
businesses alleging they charged ``exorbitant and unconscionable long-
distance rates.
  In 2005, I first introduced The Family Telephone Connection 
Protection Act, calling for more competition, rate caps and an end to 
these insane and insidious ``Kickbacks'' also known as ``site 
commissions''--which is just a polite name for ``Bribery''.
  For too many years we have allowed predatory companies like Securus 
to gauge these faceless and voiceless families who are already 
emotionally and financially devastated. It is unreasonable, unjust and 
unacceptable to pay $17 for a 15 minute call or $300 dollars a month to 
talk to a loved one.
  Mr. Speaker, more than two million Americans are currently 
incarcerated in our nation's jails and prisons. Their chances for 
rehabilitation and a successful return to society are vastly improved 
if they can remain in communication with their families, children, and 
critical support services. Expensive phone call rates deter such 
communication and result in recidivism and costly re-incarceration.
  After a decade of no oversight, no regulation and no transparency the 
FCC has a chance tomorrow to finally right a wrong to a powerless 
segment of our society.

                                Congress of the United States,

                                 Washington, DC, October 20, 2015.
     Hon. Tom Wheeler,
     Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Wheeler: More than two million Americans are 
     currently incarcerated in our nation's jails and prisons. 
     Their chances for rehabilitation and a successful return to 
     society are vastly improved if they can remain in 
     communication with their families, children, and critical 
     support services. Expensive phone call rates deter such 
     communication and result in recidivism and costly re-
     incarceration.
       For the past decade we, the undersigned Members of 
     Congress, have been imploring the Federal Communications 
     Commission (FCC) to provide a market-based solution to curb 
     these high telephone rates (see the Family Telephone 
     Connection Protection Act, first introduced in the 109th 
     Congress). The Commission is poised on October 22, 2015, to 
     approve a final order on comprehensive inmate calling 
     services (ICS) and we firmly believe that such comprehensive 
     reform is needed to rein in the predatory practices in the 
     ICS marketplace. The lack of competition and the out of 
     control site commissions paid to correctional facilities are 
     partly the cause of these skyrocketing costs. Simply put, up 
     to 60 percent of what prisoners' families pay to receive 
     phone calls from their incarcerated loved ones has nothing to 
     do with the cost of the phone services provided. These 
     artificial rates account for hundreds of millions of dollars 
     paid to state prison systems for exclusive contracts.
       For several years, the Commission has correctly concluded 
     that unconstrained site commission practices are the most 
     significant contributing factor to high ICS rates. In its 
     2013 order, Reducing High Inmate Calling Rates, the 
     Commission cited many examples demonstrating the correlation 
     of site commission and high phones rates.
       On September 15, 2015, the Commission outlined in a fact 
     sheet that it ``strongly discourages site commissions'' but 
     did not provide any assurance that it plans to eliminate or 
     curb this predatory practice. It also outlined a rate cap of 
     $1.65 for intrastate, interstate, and international calls. 
     Although establishing a rate cap is a step in the right 
     direction, we believe it must be coupled with eliminating 
     site commissions in order to yield the lowest possible phone 
     rates. We, therefore, urge the Commission to use its 
     statutory authority under Sections 201 and 276 to address 
     site commissions when it undertakes comprehensive ICS reform.
       We have all heard the stories and cries of our constituents 
     who, at times, have had to pay up to $17 for a 15 minute call 
     just to stay in touch with their incarcerated loved ones. We 
     know all too well that ongoing contact between the 
     incarcerated and their families reduces the rate of 
     recidivism in our society. Ending these predatory practices 
     of price gouging at the expense of families is a human rights 
     issue. As the Commission moves towards a vote on ICS, we urge 
     you to exercise the fullest extent of your jurisdiction to 
     protect and service more vulnerable consumers.
           Sincerely,
     Bobby L. Rush,
       Member of Congress.
     G. K. Butterfield,
       Member of Congress.
     Eleanor Holmes Norton,
       Member of Congress.
     Charles B. Rangel,
       Member of Congress.
     Marcia L. Fudge,
       Member of Congress.

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