Harder Supports Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on Spam Robocalls
Nearly Half of All Phone Calls This Year Expected to Be Scam Calls
WASHINGTON – Representative Josh Harder (CA-10) today voted to pass the bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, legislation he also cosponsored. The bill will allow federal authorities to fine spam callers up to $10,000 per call, require phone companies to create screening technology to prevent spam calls from reaching Americans' phones, and create a joint group of federal agencies and other non-federal entities that will assist Congress in future efforts to crack down on scam calls. The bill has already passed the Senate and will head to the president's desk to be signed into law.
"I can't even trust my phone anymore – I get calls from 209 numbers that say they're from Turlock – but I pick up and it's pretty clear it's not from Turlock," said Rep. Harder. "Scam calls are annoying even if you don't pick up, but those who do are more likely to be scammed. This is finally going to change."
The bipartisan TRACED Act will take several steps to stop the constant barrage of scam robocalls that Americans experience, including:
- Expanding the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) authority to penalize telemarketers who flout telemarketing rules with a fine of up to $10,000 per call.
- Allowing FCC to take more time to enforce violations – the current window only provides a year to take action against violators.
- Bringing together a half-dozen federal agencies, as well as state attorneys general, and other non-federal entities to report to Congress on additional actions that can be taken to solve the problem.
- Requiring phone companies to develop call authentication technology to screen scam calls.
- Directing the FCC to create new rules to protect people from unwanted texts or calls from entities using unauthenticated phone numbers.
In October, Rep. Harder held a telephone town hall with Central Valley seniors and a representative from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) who provided helpful tips on how to avoid being scammed.