McDowell’s Bipartisan Foreign Robocall Elimination Act Advances Through House Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Addison McDowell's Bipartisan Foreign Robocall Elimination Act  advanced through the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. 

McDowell introduced the House companion to Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Peter Welch’s (D-VT) legislation. The legislation brings together experts from the federal government and private sector to identify and combat illegal robocalls originating overseas.

“I continuously hear about bad actors targeting seniors through robocalls. Foreign scammers are trying to steal Social Security numbers, bank information, and any other sensitive information they can get their hands on,” said Rep. Addison McDowell. “The financial security of the American people is extremely important, and Congress cannot ignore this threat. I’m encouraged that the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act has advanced through the subcommittee, and I look forward to getting it through the full Energy and Commerce Committee.”

"USTelecom applauds the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee for advancing the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act. Every day, the Industry Traceback Group, in its role as the FCC’s registered traceback consortium, traces illegal robocalls to their source. This bill would build on that work by strengthening traceback efforts against illegal robocalls entering the United States from abroad, including those used to perpetrate scams. We thank Reps. McDowell and Morrison for their leadership and urge Congress to move this legislation swiftly so it can be signed into law,” said Brandon Heiner, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at USTelecom, The Broadband Association.

Background: Millions of Americans are targeted by scam calls each month by bad actors seeking to gain access to individuals’ Social Security Numbers, banking information, or other sensitive information. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has previously estimated that eliminating illegal scam robocalls would provide a public benefit of billions of dollars annually. Legislation like the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, which was signed into law in 2019, empowered the FCC and telecommunications companies to implement call authentication technologies that could more easily identify and trace back illegal, spoofed calls. This bill builds on the TRACED Act’s success by continuing to harden our telecommunications infrastructure against foreign scammers. In the Senate, this effort is led by Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Peter Welch (D-VT).

What the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act does:

• Creates an interagency task force comprised of federal agency representatives and seven private sector representatives. The federal agency participants shall be determined jointly by the FCC, FTC, and the Attorney General.
• Of the private sector representatives:
  • Three must have experience in combating unlawful robocalls
  • One must be from the U.S. Traceback Consortium
  • One must be from a telemarketing business
  • One must be from a nonprofit that primarily uses telephone communication
  • One must be from a customer advocate organization that specializes in combating unlawful robocalls
• Requires the task force to report to the administration and to Congress on suggested ways to improve the federal response to unlawful robocalls made by foreign scammers
• Requires the task force to evaluate ways for the DOJ to improve law enforcement’s response to and prevention of unlawful robocalls
• Strengthens the TRACED Act by extending the Industry Traceback Group’s (ITG) renewal period from 1 to 3 years and provides further protections for the ITG to go after illegal robocallers.
• Allows for a rulemaking so the FCC can consider the introduction of a bond to increase the costs to fraudulent providers who violate the Robocall Mitigation Database.

The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act now advances to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.