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Here’s something we didn’t know we were waiting for: Sen. Jon Tester is sponsoring a new bill aimed at stopping the constant flow of robocalls (26 billion last year) at the source.

Imagine: No more “that number looks familiar, should I pick it up?” moments. Or calls that identify as your favorite charity, but are really trying to sell you a timeshare.

Tester's bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act) will soon be up for a full vote on the Senate floor, and there's still time to ask your Senators to support it.

The Montana senator is also working to give regulators the tools they need to crack down on robocalls by introducing the Robocall Enforcement Enhancement Act.

BACKGROUND

Here’s what the TRACED Act includes:

• Extends the time frame in which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can catch and punish companies or individuals that intentionally break telemarketing restrictions from one year to three.

• Requires voice service providers to implement an authentication framework to verify that incoming calls are legitimate before they reach consumers' phones.

• Directs the FCC to craft a plan to block calls that cannot be authenticated through the framework.

• Directs the FCC to track which organizations or individuals purchase which phone numbers in order to identify and trace robocall violators.

• Establishes an Interagency Working Group to make recommendations to Congress on how to improve deterrence and criminal prosecution of robocall scams at the federal and state levels. The group would include representatives from the Department of Justice, FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Commerce, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other relevant federal agencies, as well as state attorneys general and other non-federal entities.

TAKING ACTION

As consumer advocates, we like this bill a lot. So we’re asking you to contact your senators and show your support for Tester’s bill. (It’s bipartisan -- no one is going to yell at you!) If passed and implemented, we will finally be able to know that when a number comes up on Caller ID, it’s actually who the ID says it is. And that’s a plus for those of us on the other end.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I know you’re busy and I appreciate your interest in taking part in our democracy.

Susan Madrak

Consumers United For Fairness

www.cuffnow.org

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