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The Senate Commerce Committee during a hearing yesterday sought input on possible legislative, regulatory and legal solutions to protect consumers from abusive robocalls. NAFCU continues to work for clarification under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to ensure credit unions can contact their members about important financial information without fear of inadvertently violating the law.

Throughout the hearing, committee members and witnesses acknowledged the nuisance of illegal and abusive robocalls – one witness testified that the amount of robocalls American consumers receive each month has reached 3 billion.

When asked by Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., about the rise in consumer complaints related to illegal robocalls, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enforcement Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold said the FCC is working with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and law enforcement to take action against the biggest abusive robocallers. NAFCU supports the FCC's efforts to target bad actors and protect consumers against illegal robocalls.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., during the hearing indicated that he and a group of bipartisan senators are working on a ROBOCOP bill, which has been introduced during previous sessions, to protect consumers from illegal and spoof robocalls. The bill would target spoofed robocalls, which are calls that pretend to be from a consumer's area, and require phone companies to offer tools for consumers to block robocalls while still allowing emergency calls and other legitimate calls through.

Additionally, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said he and a group of senators had sent a letter to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai requesting a comprehensive definition of "autodialer" (a U.S. District Court of Appeals recently invalidated the FCC's definition that had been issued in 2015). He also argued that consumers should be able to easily grant and revoke consent for companies to contact them through autodialers.

NAFCU, along with a group of financial industry trade groups, sent a letter to the committee ahead of the hearing requesting clarification and standards for legitimate businesses to contact consumers while still targeting bad actors. NAFCU will continue to engage with the FCC and Congress to ensure any efforts to stop illegal robocalls do not impede credit unions' ability to contact their members.

Representatives from the FCC, FTC, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, United States Telecom Association and National Consumer Law Center testified during the hearing.