WASHINGTON, DC–U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., today issued the following statement on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) action to tamp down exorbitant phone rates charged to prison inmates:
“Providing communications services at fair and reasonable rates is critical to ensuring that incarcerated people maintain the supportive ties with their families that contribute to successful reentry into society. Extreme phone rates that exponentially exceed regular market rates seriously burden the recovery and rehabilitation process, and end up costing us all more in the long run. I applaud Commissioner Clyburn and Chairman Wheeler for their leadership on this important issue at the federal level and commend my state, New Jersey, which has already taken measures to curb phone rates for incarcerated individuals. While today’s action marks meaningful and important change, there must be continued oversight over our prisons to ensure inmates can maintain ties with critical services and with their families.”
Sen. Booker has long advocated for common-sense reforms to the criminal justice system. Last week he led a letter with Democratic colleagues on the issue of inmate calling rates and published an op-ed highlighting the unnecessarily high cost of inmate calling charges.