WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress this week passed the Call Home Act of 2006 (S. 2653).  This legislation will direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in coordination with the Department of Defense and the Department of State, to seek to reduce phone rates for Armed Forces personnel deployed overseas. The bill was originally introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).

 

“Calls home are a lifeline for the brave American men and women deployed overseas in the global war on terrorism,” said Chairman Stevens. “The Call Home Act directs the FCC to coordinate with the Department of Defense to find ways to make sure our troops and their families have access to affordable communications services.  It cost Alaskans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as much as 33 cents a minute to call their families in Alaska.  This bill will go a long way in reducing those costs and making regular phone calls home affordable.”

 

The legislation authorizes the FCC to take actions necessary to reduce phone bills for troops deployed overseas, including the waiver of government fees, assessments, or other charges.

 

In seeking to reduce such telephone rates, the legislation directs the FCC to evaluate and analyze the costs of calls to and from official duty stations; evaluate methods of reducing rates including the deployment of new technology such as Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP); encourage phone companies to adopt flexible billing for troops and their dependents; and seek agreements with foreign governments to reduce international surcharges on phone calls.

 

The bill also includes language (added by Senator Stevens) that will help improve public safety by speeding the distribution of $1 billion dollars in funding for public safety interoperability communications made available in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.  The public safety community would receive the money by the end of this fiscal year.