Congressman Gonzalez Votes to Reduce Illegal Robocalls

Statement

Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) voted in favor of S. 151, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act which would require telecommunications providers to block robocalls at no-additional cost to protect consumers and small businesses. The bill passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 417 to 3.

The TRACED Act will enable the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to increase enforcement of unlawful calls and bring more criminal prosecutions against malicious robocallers. The bill will also require the FCC to deliver reports to Congress on their plan of action to stop illegal robocalling operations and oversee a group of companies charged with investigating the origins of robocalls.

"We need to use every weapon in our arsenal to combat this scourge of robocalls," said Congressman Gonzalez. "It is incumbent on carriers to protect consumers from these attacks and the government to go after bad actors that are stealing personal information. This legislation is a welcome bipartisan answer to an issue that affects almost every American."

The compromise bill will also institute protections for consumers from "one-ring" callers which occurs when fraudulent callers ring once causing the recipient to call back the number and results in unwanted fees.

In 2019 alone, Americans have received 54 billion robocalls nationwide with Texans receiving 6.2 billion of those calls.

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