USCCB rues FCC delay in implementing prisoner phone-rate reductions
July 14, 2025
» Continue to this story on USCCB
CWN Editor's Note: The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Communications lamented the Federal Communication Commission’s decision to delay implementation of a law, unanimously passed by Congress, intended to lower rates for phone and video calls to prisoners.
“For too long, families have been forced to choose between paying to stay in touch with an incarcerated loved one or meeting other basic needs such as rent, food, or medication,” Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Massachusetts, wrote in a letter to the chairman of the FCC.
“The current rates are exploitative, extracting profit from the most vulnerable and from those who are simply trying to hold their families together through incredibly difficult circumstances,” Bishop Byrne added. “Stopping implementation of this law, when many of the rules have been in place since January, only prolongs that injustice.”
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!