Daines anti-robocalls bill set to become law

The U.S. Senate recently approved bipartisan legislation supported by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) that aims to end robocalls and on Dec. 20 presented the bill to the president to be signed into law.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 4 passed the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, S. 151, on a 417-3 vote.

“Montanans are tired of being bombarded night and day by illegal robocalls,” Sen. Daines said. “My bipartisan bill will help stop these illegal calls and protect Montanans. I look forward to President Trump signing this bill into law.”

Sen. Daines signed on as a cosponsor of S. 151 in April, joining bill sponsor U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and 83 other cosponsors, including U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA).

Among numerous provisions, the bill will extend the amount of time that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has to catch and punish companies or individuals that intentionally break telemarketing restrictions, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Daines’ office.

The bill also will require voice service providers to develop a framework to verify that incoming calls are legitimate before they reach consumers’ phones, and directs the FCC to devise a plan to block calls that cannot be authenticated through the framework, the summary says.