WASHINGTON, D.C. — As one of the last acts before wrapping up this year’s session, Congress has just passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2021 (S. 1541). The bill was introduced last year by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D–Illinois), with a corresponding House bill (H.R. 2489) introduced by Congressman Bobby Rush (D–Illinois). The bill confirms the FCC’s authority to regulate all prison and jail calls to stop prison telecom corporations from charging incarcerated people and their loved ones predatory rates. It also gives the FCC authority to regulate the cost of video calls for the first time. The bill now goes to President Biden, who is expected to sign it.
“The predatory correctional telecom industry has avoided regulation for too long, and families have paid the exorbitant price,” said Worth Rises Executive Director Bianca Tylek. “Today, we commend Congress for finally correcting this injustice by passing the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act and ensuring that the FCC has the authority to regulate call rates charged across our nation’s prisons and jails. This legislation will bring extraordinary relief to families with incarcerated loved ones – parents and children especially – who need to stay connected. Those connections are important to the strength of families, well-being of people inside, and their mutual success upon reentry. Their success benefits us all.”
The bill honors Mrs. Martha Wright-Reed, who fought for affordable prison call rates for decades until her death in 2015. As a blind elderly woman, phone calls were the only way Mrs. Wright-Reed could stay in touch with her grandson while he was incarcerated. “We need to be clear about how prisons disappear our loved ones and break apart families, especially Black and brown families,” her grandson Ulandis Forte wrote in a 2019 op-ed. “This isolation from the very communities that provide love and support to incarcerated individuals does not facilitate rehabilitation; it only creates further pain.”
The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act allows the FCC to address the egregious prices that incarcerated people and their loved ones have been forced to pay to communicate with each other. The legislation confirms the FCC’s authority to regulate all prison and jail phone calls, as well as video calls. In 2017, a federal court limited the agency’s authority over in-state calls and held that the agency could regulate only interstate calls, which constitute only 20% of phone calls from prisons and jails. The bill is expected to meaningfully lower phone and video call rates across the nation’s prisons and jails.
Worth Rises, United Church of Christ’s Media Justice Ministry, Color Of Change, Free Press Action, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Consumer Law Center, Public Knowledge, and New America’s Open Technology Institute commend Congressman Rush and Senator Duckworth for their sustained efforts to pass this important legislation on a bipartisan basis as it promises to improve the lives of people across the country.
“The predatory behavior of companies serving incarcerated people and their families is notorious. Families, pastors, attorneys and others are forced to pay unconscionable rates in order to keep in touch with loved ones, offer counseling and connection or vindicate legal rights,” said Cheryl A. Leanza, Policy Advisor of the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry. “But today, the forces of good pushed back! We are celebrating passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 and the steadfast commitment of our Congressional champions who pressed ahead against terrible odds. The gift of connection and recognition to people who are often forgotten and left behind is immeasurable and particularly meaningful during the holiday season. The United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry expresses our deep gratitude to Senator Duckworth, Representative Rush. Senate and House leadership and the often unsung staff who would not give up on the people counting on them. And we credit the National Sheriffs Association for coming to the table and standing by the legislative compromise it made. We look forward to working with the Federal Communications Commission to implement this new law.”
“It is vital that we end carceral profiteering once and for all. Prison-telecommunications services profit from vulnerable families trying to stay in touch with their loved ones, generating $1.4 billion annually,” said Sakira Cook, Vice President of Policy & Government at Color Of Change. “Today, after over a decade of advocacy, lawmakers made an important stride in addressing profiteering in our prison system. We applaud and thank Representative Bobby Rush and Senator Tammy Duckworth for their leadership on this issue, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leader Chuck Schumer for prioritizing and passing this legislation in the House and in the Senate. The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 will protect people from predatory phone companies and save millions of dollars for families of incarcerated individuals, especially for Black people and communities of color."
“Incarcerated people and their loved ones have paid the price, literally, for the predatory behavior by the correctional telecom industry for far too long,” said Heather Franklin, Internet Campaign Director at Free Press Action. “The ability for incarcerated people to maintain regular communication with their loved ones, counsel and clergy is a human rights issue. We’re grateful to champions on the Hill for pushing the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 over the finish line in the final days before Congress’ holiday break and look forward to working with the FCC to ensure that the costs of all calls are just and reasonable.”
“For too long, families have been forced to pay inflated, unaffordable rates to stay connected with their incarcerated loved ones,” said Ariel Nelson, Staff Attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “We applaud Congress for passing the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, which will help end this predatory practice and ensure that families no longer have to choose between putting food on the table or speaking with a loved one."
“At last, incarcerated people will be able to make phone calls to stay in touch with family and other loved ones with some regulatory supervision on both interstate and local rates,” said Al Kramer, Senior Fellow at Public Knowledge. “Moreover, there will now have to be services accessible by incarcerated people who are hearing impaired or have other disabilities. We thank Senator Duckworth and Representative Rush for their tireless work in shepherding this important legislation through the legislative process. ”
“The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 is essential to preparing for jobs and housing when a person is released,” commended Charles Sullivan, President of International CURE.
Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Staff Counsel to the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society stressed the broader impact of the new legislation, “Enactment of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 helps everyone, not just the incarcerated and their families. Our entire society benefits when families can stay together; reducing recidivism reduces taxes for all of us and also makes the job of law enforcement easier and cheaper.”
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Worth Rises is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to dismantling the prison industry and ending the exploitation of those it targets. Follow @WorthRises on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.