House passes anti-robocall bill

The House on Wednesday took a major step toward cracking down on illegal robocalls by passing legislation allowing for tougher penalties against the scammers who generate billions of unwanted calls each year.

Lawmakers passed the measure, sponsored by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), in a 429-3 vote.

The bill takes aim at illegal spam calls by toughening up the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) ability to take action against illegal robocalling operations and requiring all carriers to implement technology to make sure calls are authentic.

“We’re proud of the strong support our bipartisan Stopping Bad Robocalls Act received this afternoon and look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate to produce a bill that the President can sign into law,” the four leading sponsors of the House bill said in a statement.

The number of robocallers dialing up U.S. consumers is on the rise. Some estimates say there were more than 48 billion robocalls in 2018, up almost 50 percent from the previous year.

The legislation requires telephone carriers to implement technology that verifies caller identity without charging customers an extra fee, while extending the FCC’s authority to impose penalties against the entities that send spam calls.

What’s next: The Stopping Bad Robocalls Act is similar to the Senate’s Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act. The Senate passed its measure 97-1 earlier this year.

A spokesman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee told The Hill there likely will not be a formal conference committee to resolve discrepancies between the two bills. Instead, he said there will be “informal negotiations” during the August recess.