A group of 17 Democrats penned a letter demanding that Senate leaders include a provision in the next coronavirus relief package to let prisoners make free video calls.
The Thursday letter detailed the exorbitant fees that can accompany phone calls and video calls from prison. A 15-minute, in-state phone call can cost an incarcerated person up to $25. Families of inmates disproportionately belong to minority racial groups and are more likely to be impoverished. The senators noted that one-third of such families admitted that they “went into debt in order to stay connected” with their loved ones.
“As it remains unclear when effective treatment or a vaccine will be available, ensuring that incarcerated people can stay connected with their loved ones while in-person visits are suspended is critical — but we must also support solutions to help keep families connected after the pandemic,” the group wrote.
“Regular communication with loved ones has consistently proven to help incarcerated people succeed in reentering the workforce after their release, and allowing them to stay connected will benefit them and their communities in the short and long term,” they added.
The Federal Communications Commission announced on July 16 that it would be placing a price cap on interstate calls, but only 20% of calls made in prison are to out-of-state people. The FCC does not have the authority to regulate the price of calls made within states.
“As many facilities have suspended in-person visits and families face layoffs, furloughs, and evictions due to the pandemic, these calls are more necessary — and cost prohibitive — than ever,” the senators wrote. “Without action from Congress to address the rates for instate calls, families will continue to suffer.”
The letter was signed by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, among others.
The Justice Department and many state prisons have opted to release some nonviolent offenders from their facilities early to mitigate crowding and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
