Federal Communications Commission "FCC XX-XXX" STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR Re: Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket No. 12-375. There is no question that the market for inmate calling services is broken. The providers offering these services face no competition, so market forces do not operate to constrain the charges that they pass along to consumers. That’s why the FCC has an important role to play in ensuring just and reasonable rates. In the past, the FCC made several attempts to reform the system, but it did so in ways that exceeded our authority. That’s why the D.C. Circuit repeatedly turned back those efforts, leaving the status quo largely in place. Today, we move forward in a way that will deliver meaningful reform while respecting the limits Congress has imposed on our authority. The reforms we adopt today will result in lower fees for a broad array of services, and our proposals for further reforms will lower rates for interstate and international calls based on a methodology that corrects for the flaws underlying the FCC’s prior attempts at reform. This item will make a meaningful difference in Americans’ lives, so I want to thank the Wireline Competition Bureau for their work on this item. It has my support. 2