WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Elaine Luria (VA-02) today voted to pass the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act to provide relief to millions of Americans who are threatened by the abusive practices of robocalls.
With 54 billion robocalls made this year, robocalls present a rapidly growing security threat to everyday Americans. Many of these calls are scams that seek to steal recipients’ personal information and money. The TRACED Act would combat these fraudulent calls by giving the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the tools to hold these scammers accountable.
“For many Coastal Virginians, robocalls are more than just a nuisance, they are predatory scams,” Congresswoman Luria said. “Too often, robocallers steal money and sensitive information from hardworking families. I am pleased to join lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to combat this growing epidemic.”
The TRACED Act:
- Allows the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to levy civil penalties of up to $10,000 per call for individuals making illegal robocalls.
- Gives FCC regulators three years to catch and take civil enforcement action against intentional violators.
- Directs the FCC to require telephone providers to implement existing anti-robocall technologies within 18 months at no additional cost.
- Requires the FCC to develop rules preventing unwanted calls or texts and reduce violators’ access to phone numbers.
Today, the TRACED Act passed the House in a 417-3 vote. Last May, the Senate voted to pass this bill by a 97-1 margin.
Earlier this year, Congresswoman Luria voted for the House-passed Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which she cosponsored. Many provisions of this bill are contained within the TRACED Act.
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Well, excuse me for not being thrilled with the passage of this bill. I don’t see any teeth to it. We have to wait quite a while for it to do any good, if it does any, which I have no faith in. This bill requires “phone providers to implement anti-robocall technology within 18 mos.” That’s quite a wait considering how long ago the Senate already addressed this. It makes me think it’s a “feel good bill” so we think D.C. is doing something, while they whittle away sessions. I’d love to hear them tell us how this is going to be enforced. What ? I call Luria’s office and say “Charlie Booger is trying to force me to buy tissues” and she’s gonna jump right on it ? OR there’s gonna be an 855 # that we all call to complain about Charlie Booger, and that # is gonna be BUSY, or I/we will be told “please hold, your call is very important to us. Calls are answered in the order in which they are received, and you are call # 2,373,263. Your wait is, well, until next May when the Senate votes again.” Thanks for proposing non-partisan legislation Elaine, that all the politicians voted for so they can look like they are doing something, when they can’t really, because they are boondoggled by the bullschiff activities that are going on for so long, as we all so sadly know, so very well.