House Passes Bill to Stop Surge in Robocalls

Press Release

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, applauds the U.S. House of Representatives today for passing legislation to stop the surge of abusive robocalls recently defrauding American families.

H.R. 946, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, would require telephone carriers to confirm that all calls are from a verified caller before the call can be put through. It would also force telephone carriers to adopt new technology that helps prove the true identify of callers. Finally, it would create criminal penalties for those engaging in robocalls.

"We know the amount of robocalls Americans receive have increased over the years and these calls are scamming people out of their hard earned money. I'm proud that both Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives came together to act to protect Michiganders and stop these calls. This bipartisan bill puts consumers first so that when people answer their phone, they don't have to worry someone is trying to cheat them," said Congressman Kildee.

Last year, an estimated 26.3 billion unwanted calls were placed in the U.S., which represents a 46 percent increase in unwanted calls from the previous year. Though some robocalls are initiated by legitimate companies, robocalls are also used by bad actors to steal from consumers, with more than 22 million Americans losing a total of $9.5 billion in robocall scams in 2016 alone.

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