Anti-Spoofing Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, my thanks to Chairman Burgess and Ranking Member Schakowsky for shepherding this bill through the subcommittee.

This is an important bill to the consumers of this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2669, the Anti-Spoofing Act, which I am proud to offer with my colleagues Grace Meng, a Democratic Member from the great Borough of Queens in New York State, and Joe Barton, Republican of Texas, the chairman emeritus of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. This bill cracks down on the national problem of caller ID spoofing.

Caller ID spoofing occurs when a scammer calls and attempts to disguise his or her identity by manipulating the recipient caller's caller ID display. The scammer may be posing as an IRS agent, a police officer, or a representative from another governmental agency. After tricking people into picking up the line, the criminal then attempts to entice the other person into sharing personal information. To date, hundreds of thousands--might I suggest millions--have been defrauded, including veterans, immigrants, and senior citizens.

In Somerset County, New Jersey, a county in which I represent the majority of the residents, scammers cloned the phone number of the Somerset County Sheriff's Office and impersonated the sheriff's staff in an effort to steal residents' personal information. I pay tribute to Sheriff Provenzano of Somerset County, New Jersey. He has been one of the leading advocates across the Nation regarding this legislation.

The problem has gotten out of control. Millions of Americans continue to get ripped off by con artists and scammers who perpetrate this despicable crime. This disgraceful practice must end, and this consumer protection legislation goes a long way toward accomplishing that critical goal.

The audacity of these criminals is eclipsed only by their ability to adapt to changing technologies.

Unfortunately, since Congress passed the Truth in Caller ID Act in 2009--of course, all of us supported that--new technologies have enabled these criminals to scam consumers with increased ease and efficiency. This legislation is one step forward to ensure that governmental policies keep up with new technologies and keep up with these criminals.

In the last 2 years since this legislation passed the House of Representatives unanimously, it appears that the problem has gone from one of a simple nuisance to a borderline epidemic. It is time to stop this disgraceful practice, and this legislation is aimed to do that. I believe it is a critical goal.

The committee on which we all serve, the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Speaker, is the most productive in the House of Representatives. More legislation reaches the floor of this House from the Energy and Commerce Committee than any other committee in the House of Representatives, and more legislation reaches the President's desk from our committee than any other committee in either House of the Federal Congress.

We on the committee, and certainly on the subcommittee chaired by Dr. Burgess, work in a bipartisan capacity. And I am so proud of this subcommittee and of the full committee. The American people want us to work together on the critical issues that confront the Nation, including the issue we are discussing now: ID spoofing. That is why I predict that this legislation will pass unanimously here and why I predict that this legislation will reach the President's desk 2.2 miles west down Pennsylvania Avenue.

I want to thank those in the administration who support this legislation. I want to thank all of the members of the subcommittee and all of the members of the full Energy and Commerce Committee. I am confident that this legislation is in the best interest of the consuming public of the United States.

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