TRACED Act Passes Senate
The Senate yesterday passed the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act by unanimous consent. The House passed the bill earlier this month by a vote of 417-3.
The legislation is the result of a bipartisan, bicameral agreement produced by the two bodies, illustrating the importance with which Congress views reining in illegal robocalls. According to a press release, The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act would:
- Require carriers to offer call-authentication technology to consumers and small businesses in rural and urban America at no additional charge;
- Require opt-in or opt-out robocall blocking be offered at no additional charge to consumers;
- Give the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to step up enforcement actions against unlawful robocalls with a longer statute of limitations and increased fines in certain cases;
- Push the Department of Justice to bring more criminal prosecutions against criminal robocallers;
- Require the FCC to work to stop one-ring scams;
- Help the FCC and responsible carriers traceback and cutoff suspect phone companies that are responsible for sending vast numbers of unlawful robocalls; and,
- Protect patients, doctors, and hospitals from unlawful robocalls.
AFSA expects the President to sign the bill into law, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of members to ensure that they can efficiently contact their customers.
December 20th, 2019
