WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed legislation on Wednesday to bring relief to Americans threatened and irritated by abusive robocall practices.
Rep. Elaine Luria said robocalls are security threats that often seek to steal recipients’ personal information and money. The Stopping Bad Robocalls Act would provide relief to Virginians by combating the abusive and unethical practices of robocalls.
would provide relief to Virginians by combating the abusive and unethical practices of robocallers.
“Republicans, Democrats, and everyone in between agree on at least one thing: we all hate robocalls,” Congresswoman Luria said. “Congress should protect Americans from the scams and abusive practices of robocallers, as well as the profound annoyance these calls cause. I’m proud to support a bipartisan effort to do just that.”
The bill passed the House in a 429 to 3 vote before being passed through to the Senate.
View the full legislation below:
The bipartisan Stopping Bad Robocalls Act:
- Requires that phone carriers implement call authentication technology so consumers can trust their caller ID again, with no additional line-item for consumers, and includes a process to help rural carriers implement this technology;
- Allows carriers to offer call blocking services to consumers, with no additional line-item charge, with important transparency safeguards to make sure important calls aren’t inadvertently blocked;
- Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue rules to protect consumers from calls they didn’t agree to receive and to ensure consumers can withdraw consent;
- Requires the FCC to enact safeguards so companies can’t abuse robocall exemptions;
- Ensures the FCC has the authority and the tools to take strong, quick action when it tracks down robocallers, including by extending the statute of limitations from one year to as many as four years for callers violating robocall prohibitions; and
- Mandates the FCC submit a report to Congress on the implementation of its reassigned numbers database to make sure the Commission is effectively protecting consumers from unwanted calls.