{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-cotton-joins-attorney-general-tim-griffin-governor-sanders-fcc-chairman-carr-to-discuss-combating-contraband-cellphones-in-prisons", "Senator Cotton Joins Attorney General Tim Griffin, Governor Sanders, FCC Chairman Carr to Discuss Combating Contraband Cellphones in Prisons", "2025-09-05", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nContact: Caroline Tabler orPatrick McCann (202) 224-2353\n\nSeptember 5, 2025\n\nSenator Cotton Joins Attorney General Tim Griffin, Governor Sanders, FCC Chairman Carr to Discuss Combating Contraband Cellphones in Prisons\n\nWashington, DC \u2014 Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) along with Attorney General Tim Griffin today hosted Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr for a tour of the Varner Prison in Lincoln County, Arkansas. On the tour they heard firsthand from corrections officers about contraband cell phone use in the prison. Following the tour, Senator Cotton, Chairman Carr, and Attorney General Tim Griffin returned to Little Rock and were joined by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other stakeholders for a roundtable and press conference on contraband cell phones in prisons.\n\nAfter the tour, Chairman Carr also announced the FCC will soon vote on a proposal allowing prisons to jam contraband cellphones for the first time.\n\nClick here for a video of the press conference.\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s tour of Varner Prison in Arkansas reaffirmed what we\u2019ve long known\u2014contraband cellphones are a real and ongoing problem in our correctional system. These phones are a security risk that allow criminals to coordinate crimes while sitting behind bars. I\u2019m grateful to Chairman Carr, Attorney General Griffin, and Governor Sanders for their participation and their partnership on this issue. The Trump administration is committed to stopping violent crime and I applaud Chairman Carr\u2019s announcement that the FCC will soon vote on a proposal to give our prisons the ability to jam contraband cellphones for the first time. Congress should follow their lead and codify this proposal by immediately passing the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025,\u201dsaid Senator Cotton.\n\n\u201cPresident Trump is restoring law and order. He is putting the safety of law abiding Americans first. That is why I am pleased to announce that the FCC will vote, for the first time ever, on allowing prisons to jam contraband cellphones. For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using them to order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises. While the FCC has authorized a range of solutions in the past, it has stopped short of allowing jamming. It is time to empower law enforcement to put additional solutions in place\u2014including jamming. I would like to thank the leadership of the great state of Arkansas for hosting us today and for the leadership you have shown in working to eliminate this pressing threat to public safety,\u201d said Chairman Carr.\n\n\u201cPublic safety is government\u2019s first priority, and the evidence clearly shows that contraband cell phones pose a direct threat to Arkansans\u2019 security. President Trump is restoring order and delivering on his promises to the American people by empowering the men and women of law enforcement to do what they selflessly signed up to do \u2013 protect and serve. I am grateful for President Trump, Senator Cotton, and Chairman Carr\u2019s leadership on this issue at the federal level, as well as Attorney General Griffin\u2019s leadership here in our state. Together, we will hold criminals accountable and protect Arkansans,\u201dsaid Governor Sanders.\n\n\u201cEarlier today, Senator Tom Cotton, Chairman Brendan Carr, and I toured the Varner Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections to see firsthand how cellphone jamming in prisons would benefit Arkansas, and what we saw was alarming. Varner staff showed us the collection of contraband cellphones that have been confiscated. After our visit to Varner, I joined Senator Cotton, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Chairman Carr, Lindsay Wallace, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, and other public safety leaders for a roundtable meeting at my office to discuss the threat that contraband cellphones pose to correctional officers and the general public. Thousands of contraband cellphones have poured into prisons across the country, and inmates have been using them to plan further criminal activity, including assault, murder, and aiding criminal enterprises. I applaud Chairman Carr and the FCC for moving forward with a rule that would allow correctional facilities to use jamming solutions to combat contraband cellphones, and I appreciate the leadership of Senator Cotton and Congressman David Kustoff (R-Tennessee) on this issue. This is an obvious problem with an obvious solution, and it\u2019s time to get this done,\u201dsaid Attorney General Griffin.\n\nBackground:\n\nIn March, Senator Cotton and Congressman David Kustoff (Tennesee-08) introduced the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025, legislation that would prevent inmates from using contraband cellphone use in prison facilities by allowing state and federal prisons to use cellphone jamming systems.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-cotton-joins-attorney-general-tim-griffin-governor-sanders-fcc-chairman-carr-to-discuss-combating-contraband-cellphones-in-prisons"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8233028929680586, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}