Robocalls may soon be a thing of the past.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which was unanimously approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee last week, and was sent to the House floor yesterday, where it was passed with a 429-3 vote.
The bill offers the Federal Communication Commission additional power to take action against illegal robocalling, and would require that all carriers comply with identity verification technology. Carriers failing to do this would be fined for not meeting the verification requirement.
The fees themselves would range from $1,500 to $10,000 per violation.
Frank Pallone Jr., chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said that the onslaught of robocalls affecting users “threatens the way consumers view and use their telephones” and is “undermining our entire phone system.”
The Stopping Bad Robocalls Act is approved by the House today is similar to the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act passed by the Senate earlier this year.
A spokesman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee stated that there would be no formal conference committee to resolve discrepancies between the two bills. Instead, there would be “informal negotiations” between legislators during the August recess.
It’s thought that Congress could send the bill to the White House before the end of the year.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.