[Peace] The FCC Announces Bold Initiative to Regulate Prison Phone Calls

[Brian Dolinar]

Dear supporter,



This week, the FCC announced a proposal that would bring significant relief
to families paying for phone calls to their loved ones incarcerated.
As the *New
York Times*
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/us/fcc-seeks-to-limit-and-lower-costs-of-inmates-phone-calls.html?_r=1>
reports, calls from state and federal prisons will be capped at 11 cents
per minute. For the majority of people locked up, they would pay less than
two dollars for a call. This is a major victory in the campaign prison
phone justice!



Yet we are at a critical moment and need your help to win this campaign.
Please take a moment to *sign our petition*
<http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6797/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=20366>,
and share with a friend. We are sending a delegation to Washington D.C.
that will deliver the petition next week.



The FCC will vote on this proposal at their next meeting on *October 22*.
We can expect to see opponents of this reform put up a fight. Now more than
ever, it’s important that the FCC hear from you.



Details about the proposal can be found in a FCC fact sheet
<https://www.fcc.gov/document/fact-sheet-ensuring-just-reasonable-fair-rates-inmate-calling>.
In addition to capping state and federal prisons at 11 cents, the FCC calls
for a tiered rate for jails of 14 to 22 cents per minute, depending on the
size of the jail. While the FCC “discourages” commissions, they fail to
address the millions of dollars collected in kickbacks. Along with our
coalition partners, we are pressuring the FCC to go further.



We are grateful for the FCC’s bold action, and particularly the leadership
shown by Chair Thomas Wheeler, and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a longtime
champion for prison phone justice.



We also appreciate the activist organizations that have worked hard for
this proposal, and the families who have had the courage to speak out.



Our campaign will continue to elevate the voices of those impacted by the
high cost of these phone calls. See our recent video with MaryHaywood-Benso
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IieMLVmlqE&feature=em-share_video_user>n,
of Champaign, whose son spent 27 years incarcerated.



Stay tuned for other events we’re planning around the FCC’s October 22
meeting.


Thank you,



Brian Dolinar

Illinois Campaign for Prison Phone Justice

Independent Media Center

202 S. Broadway

Urbana, IL 61801
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