WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Lawmakers voted in support of a bill Wednesday that would stop and limit robocalls.
H.R. 3375, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, will require the FCC to strengthen consumer protections and ensure calls are verified.
Congressman Chuck Fleishmann, Congressman Phil Roe and Congressman Tim Burchett are all cosponsors of the bill.
The House has passed the robocall bill by a 429-3 vote.
Rep. Burchett took to Twitter, as he typically does, just moments after Wednesday's vote.
"Really good bill tonight limiting robocalls and putting some restraints on them," he said. "It's a good piece of legislation and I was one of the cosponsors on it so hopefully, that'll get through the senate and put into place."
Rep. Fleischmann issued the following statement after voting in support of H.R. 3375, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act:
“East Tennesseans are frustrated with the rise of annoying and disruptive robocalls. Worse than being an interruption to daily life, the perpetrators behind these illegal calls are often scammers trying to steal personal information. I was proud to cosponsor this bipartisan solution that will require the FCC to strengthen consumer protections, ensure calls are verified, and most importantly, stop the headaches that this abuse has caused millions of Americans.”
Rep. Phil Roe also released a statement after voting in favor of the bill:
“Robocall spammers have consistently stayed a step ahead of our laws and more needs to be done to combat this significant nuisance. The scam calls are not only annoying, but they cost Americans billions of dollars each year. It’s estimated that this year, 44.6 percent of all calls will be scams. In East Tennessee, in 2019, there have already been over 137.5 million robocalls to area code 423 and over 93 million to area code 865. I’m proud to support the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which will increase protections for consumers against scam calls. This legislation requires the FCC to take several actions to improve enforcement of our laws designed to combat these calls and give consumers the tools they need to avoid these calls, such as better caller ID authentication. It also cracks down on the so-called “one-ring scam” where international scammers try to trick callers into believing they’ve missed a call by using numbers that appear to be based in the U.S. This bill will not solve the problem overnight but is a good start, and I’m glad Congress is focusing on this annoyance.”
In May, the Senate passed a bill similar to the House one, the Traced Act with near-unanimous support.
Both bills have support from consumer groups and the telecom industry.
Congressman Roe is also a cosponsor of the Traced Act, introduced by Rep. David Kustoff of Tennessee.
"This legislation broadens the authority of the FCC to charge civil penalties of up to $10,000 per call on those who intentionally flout telemarketing restrictions and will extend the timeline of the FCC has to take civil actions against violators from one year to three," a release from Roe's office said. "Additionally, this legislation will require service providers like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to update their authentication technologies so that carriers can identify false calls."