Sens. Crapo, Klobuchar robocall bill passes senate

WASHINGTON (KMVT/KSVT) —The Senate unanimously passed legislation by U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, to help stop unwanted robocalls Friday.

Crapo and Klobuchar introduced S. 2204, the Data Analytics Robocall Technology Act on July 23, 2019. The DART Act would require the Federal Communications Commission to report to Congress on the effectiveness of call blocking programs.

“The Senate’s passage of the DART Act further proves our ongoing work and commitment to stopping fraudulent, menacing robocalls,” Crapo said. “The DART Act will provide Congress the opportunity to review the effectiveness of a variety of call-blocking technologies, while also ensuring important emergency and public safety calls are not blocked in the process of stopping these crooks. I hope the House of Representatives will swiftly pass this bipartisan legislation so it can get one step closer to being law.”

“Most robocalls aren’t just unwanted and disruptive – they are illegal,” Klobuchar said. “Our legislation to expand the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to combat illegal robocalls passed the Senate today. The DART Act will help ensure that public safety calls are reliable and direct the FCC to report to Congress on the effectiveness of call-blocking technologies.”

The DART Act would give Congress oversight on the implementation of call blocking technology and ensure that critical safety and emergency calls are handled properly. The bill would prevent certain numbers--like public safety, emergency, schools or other government entities--from being blocked.

Sens. Crapo and Klobuchar have supported additional efforts in Congress to combat robocalls. On Dec. 30, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, of which both were co-sponsors. The TRACED Act mandates the adoption of caller identification authentication technology and increases civil penalties for violating anti-robocall statutes in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.