Chalk one up for prison telecoms — and against inmates' family members — courtesy of Trump's FCC. On Monday, the agency said (viaThe Verge) it would delay enforcement of a 2024 action aimed at capping prison phone call fees. The rules are now scheduled to take effect in April 2027.
由特朗普的FCC提供，为监狱电信和反对囚犯的家人而粉笔。该机构周一说（通过The Verge）将延迟执行2024年旨在限制监狱电话费的行动。该规则定于2027年4月生效。
FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez criticized the agency's move in a statement."Today, the FCC made the indefensible decision to ignore both the law and the will of Congress," she wrote.
FCC专员安娜·戈麦斯（Anna M. Gomez）在一份声明中批评了该机构的举动。她写道：“今天，FCC做出了无可辩驳的决定，忽略了法律和国会的意志。”
Prison phone call fees vary dramatically by state. Last year, the FCC said rates for large jails could reach as high as $11.35 for a 15-minute audio call. Meanwhile, family members calling smaller jails could pay as much as $12.10 for the same period. The rates in other states are much lower, and some have passed laws capping fees.
监狱电话的费用因州而异。去年，FCC表示，对于15分钟的音频电话，大监狱的费率可能高达11.35美元。同时，称为较小监狱的家庭成员在同一时期可能需要支付多达12.10美元的费用。其他州的费率要低得多，有些则通过了法律限额费用。
The fees collected from the families and friends of inmates often include kickbacks to jails and local governments. In 2021, Business Insiderreported (viaThe Verge) that the prison phone call industry raked in $1.4 billion annually. And it's a system that disproportionately affects women and people of color.
从囚犯的家人和朋友那里收取的费用通常包括监狱和地方政府的回扣。2021年，业务内部报告（通过The Verge），监狱电话行业每年收入14亿美元。这是一个不成比例地影响妇女和有色人种的系统。
Brendan Carr with Donald Trump in 2024.
布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）于2024年与唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）。
The FCC's history of regulating those rates is… all over the place. In 2013, the agency capped state-to-state fees. It later tried to limit within-state rates, but a federal court blocked the move. Former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, Trump's first-term appointee, chose not to appeal that decision.
FCC规范这些费率的历史是……到处都是。2013年，该机构限制了州到国家的费用。后来，它试图限制州内利率，但联邦法院阻止了此举。特朗普的第一任任命人阿吉特·帕（Ajit Pai）的前FCC主席选择不对这一决定提出上诉。
Then, a new administration brought about another shift. Under Jessica Rosenworcel's leadership, the FCC again moved toward capping the fees. In 2023, former President Biden signed legislation clarifying that the FCC indeed has the authority to regulate them. Last year, the FCC adopted the order establishing the details of those rate caps. It seemed as though the book was about to be closed.
然后，一个新的政府带来了另一个转变。在杰西卡·罗森沃尔（Jessica Rosenworcel）的领导下，FCC再次朝着收费迈进。2023年，前总统拜登（Biden）签署了立法，澄清说，FCC确实有权监管他们。去年，FCC通过了确定这些费率上限的详细信息的命令。似乎这本书即将关闭。
And then, Donald Trump returned to office. That brings us back to today, with current FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issuing the two-year delay. He cited"negative, unintended consequences" from the 2024 order. He claimed that the rate caps were too low to cover the cost of safety measures. Carr said the delay would allow local and state governments to explore alternative funding sources.
然后，唐纳德·特朗普回到办公室。这使我们回到了今天，现任FCC主席布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）发布了为期两年的延误。他引用了2024年命令中的“负面，意外后果”。他声称，费率上限太低，无法涵盖安全措施的成本。卡尔说，延误将使地方和州政府能够探索替代资金来源。
FCC Commissioner Gomez painted her colleagues' decision as a flagrant attempt to evade the law."Rather than enforce the law, the Commission is now stalling, shielding a broken system that inflates costs and rewards kickbacks to correctional facilities at the expense of incarcerated individuals and their loved ones," she wrote."Instead of taking targeted action to address specific concerns, the FCC issued a blanket two-year waiver that undercuts the law's intent and postpones meaningful relief for millions of families. This is a blatant attempt to sidestep the law, and it will not go unchallenged in court."
FCC专员戈麦斯（Gomez）将她的同事们的决定绘制为逃避法律的公然企图。她写道：“该委员会现在没有执行法律，而是在停滞不前，掩盖了一个破碎的系统，使成本和回报奖励以惩罚设施以牺牲被监禁的个人及其亲人为代价。”FCC没有采取针对性的行动来解决特定问题，而是发布了一份毯子两年的豁免，削弱了法律的意图并将其推迟对数百万个家庭的有意义的缓解。这是避开法律的公然企图，并且不会在法庭上受到挑战。”
