[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 149 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13419-S13420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER:
  S. 1825. A bill to empower telephone consumers, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


                      the phone bill fairness act

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Phone 
Bill Fairness Act. I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1825

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Phone Bill Fairness Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Customer bills for telecommunications services are 
     unreasonably complicated, and many Americans are unable to 
     understand the nature of services provided to them and the 
     charges for which they are responsible.
       (2) One of the purposes of the Telecommunications Act of 
     1996 (Public Law 104-104) was to unleash competitive and 
     market forces for telecommunications services.
       (3) Unless customers can understand their 
     telecommunications bills they cannot take advantage of the 
     newly competitive market for telecommunications services.
       (4) Confusing telecommunications bills allow a small 
     minority of providers of telecommunications services to 
     commit fraud more easily. The best defense against 
     telecommunications fraud is a well informed consumer. 
     Consumers cannot be well informed when their 
     telecommunications bills are incomprehensible.
       (5) Certain providers of telecommunications services have 
     established new, specific charges on customer bills commonly 
     known as ``line-item charges''.
       (6) These line-item charges have proliferated and are often 
     described with inaccurate and confusing names.
       (7) These line-item charges have generated significant 
     confusion among customers regarding the nature and scope of 
     universal service and of the fees associated with universal 
     service.
       (8) The National Association of Regulatory Utility 
     Commissioners adopted a resolution in February 1998 
     supporting action by the Federal Communications Commission to 
     require interstate telecommunications carriers to provide 
     accurate customer notice regarding the implementation and 
     purpose of end-user charges for telecommunications services.
       (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to require the 
     Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade 
     Commission to protect and empower consumers of 
     telecommunications services by assuring that 
     telecommunications bills, including line-item charges, issued 
     by telecommunications carriers nationwide are both accurate 
     and comprehensible.

     SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER BILLING 
                   PRACTICES.

       (a) Investigation.--
       (1) Requirement.--The Federal Communications Commission and 
     the Federal Trade Commission shall jointly conduct an 
     investigation of the billing practices of telecommunications 
     carriers.
       (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the investigation is to 
     determine whether the bills sent by telecommunications 
     carriers to their customers accurately assess and correctly 
     characterize the services received and fees charged for such 
     services, including any fees imposed as line-item charges.
       (b) Determinations.--In carrying out the investigation 
     under subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission 
     and the Federal Trade Commission shall determine the 
     following:
       (1) The prevalence of incomprehensible or confusing 
     telecommunications bills.
       (2) The most frequent causes for confusion on 
     telecommunications bills.
       (3) Whether or not any best practices exist, which, if 
     utilized as an industry standard, would reduce confusion and 
     improve comprehension of telecommunications bills.
       (4) Whether or not telecommunications bills that impose 
     fees through line-item charges characterize correctly the 
     nature and basis of such fees, including, in particular, 
     whether or not such fees are required by the Federal 
     Government or State governments.
       (c) Review of Records.--
       (1) Authority.--For purposes of the investigation under 
     subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission and the 
     Federal Trade Commission may obtain from any 
     telecommunications carrier any record of such carrier that is 
     relevant to the investigation, including any record 
     supporting such carrier's basis for setting fee levels or 
     percentages.
       (2) Use.--The Federal Communications Commission and the 
     Federal Trade Commission may use records obtained under this 
     subsection only for purposes of the investigation.
       (d) Disciplinary Actions.--
       (1) In general.--If the Federal Communications Commission 
     or the Federal Trade Commission determines as a result of the 
     investigation under subsection (a) that the bills sent by a 
     telecommunications carrier to its customers do not accurately 
     assess or correctly characterize any service or fee contained 
     in such bills, the Federal Communications Commission or the 
     Federal Trade Commission, as the case may be, may take such 
     action against such carrier as such Commission is authorized 
     to take under law.
       (2) Characterization of fees.--If the Federal 
     Communications Commission or the Federal Trade Commission 
     determines as a result of the investigation under subsection 
     (a) that a telecommunications carrier has characterized a fee 
     on bills sent to its customers as mandated or otherwise 
     required by the Federal Government or a State and that such 
     characterization is incorrect, the Federal Communications 
     Commission or the Federal Trade Commission, as the case may 
     be, may require the carrier to discontinue such 
     characterization.
       (3) Additional actions.--If the Federal Communications 
     Commission or the Federal Trade Commission determines that 
     such Commission does not have authority under law to take 
     actions under paragraph (1) that would be appropriate in 
     light of a determination described in paragraph (1), the 
     Federal Communications Commission or the Federal Trade 
     Commission, as the case may be, shall notify Congress of the 
     determination under this paragraph in the report under 
     subsection (e).
       (e) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission 
     and the Federal Trade Commissions shall jointly submit to 
     Congress a report on the results of the investigation under 
     subsection (a). The report shall include the determination, 
     if any, of either Commission under subsection (d)(3) and any 
     recommendations for further legislative action that such 
     Commissions consider appropriate.

     SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF MISLEADING TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILLS AND 
                   TELECOMMUNICATIONS RATE PLANS.

       (a) Federal Trade Commission.--The Federal Trade Commission 
     shall treat any telecommunications billing practice or 
     telecommunications rate plan that the Commission determines 
     to be intentionally misleading as an unfair business practice 
     under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 
     seq.).
       (b) Federal Communications Commission.--The Federal 
     Communications Commission shall, upon finding that any holder 
     of a license under the Commission has repeatedly and 
     intentionally engaged in a telephone billing practice, or has 
     repeatedly and intentionally utilized a telephone rate plan, 
     that is misleading, treat such holder as acting against the 
     public interest for purposes of the Communications Act of 
     1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).

     SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL BILLS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
                   SERVICES.

       (a) Average Per Minute Rate Calculation.--Each 
     telecommunications carrier shall display on the first page of 
     each customer bill for telecommunications services the 
     average per-minute charge of telecommunications services of 
     such customer for the billing period covered by such bill.
       (b) Calling Patterns.--Each telecommunications carrier 
     shall display on the first page of each customer bill for 
     telecommunications services the percentage of the total 
     number of telephone calls of such customer for the billing 
     period covered by such bill as follows:
       (1) That began on a weekday.
       (2) That began on a weekend.

[[Page S13420]]

       (3) That began from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m..
       (4) That began from 8:01 p.m. to 7:59 a.m..
       (5) That were billed to a calling card.
       (c) Average Per-Minute Charge Defined.--In this section, 
     the term ``average per-minute charge'', in the case of a bill 
     of a customer for a billing period, means--
       (1) the sum of--
       (A) the aggregate amount of monthly or other recurring 
     charges, if any, for telecommunications services imposed on 
     the customer by the bill for the billing period; and
       (B) the total amount of all per-minute charges for 
     telecommunications services imposed on the customer by the 
     bill for the billing period; divided by
       (2) the total number of minutes of telecommunications 
     services provided to the customer during the billing period 
     and covered by the bill.

     SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS IMPOSING 
                   CERTAIN CHARGES FOR SERVICES.

       (a) Billing Requirements.--Any telecommunications carrier 
     shall include on the bills for telecommunications services 
     sent to its customers the following:
       (1) An accurate name and description of any covered charge.
       (2) The recipient or class of recipients of the monies 
     collected through each such charge.
       (3) A statement whether each such charge is required by law 
     or collected pursuant to a requirement imposed by a 
     governmental entity under its discretionary authority.
       (4) A specific explanation of any reduction in charges or 
     fees to customers, and the class of telephone customer that 
     such reduction, that are related to each such charge.
       (b) Universal Service Contributions and Receipts.--Not 
     later than January 31 each year, each telecommunications 
     carrier required to contribute to universal service during 
     the previous year under section 254(d) of the Communications 
     Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)) shall submit to the Federal 
     Communications Commission a report on following:
       (1) The total contributions of the carrier to the universal 
     service fund during the previous year.
       (2) The total receipts from customers during such year 
     designed to recover contributions to the fund.
       (c) Action on Universal Service Contributions and Receipts 
     Data.--
       (1) Review.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
     review the reports submitted to the Commission under 
     subsection (b) in order to determine whether or not the 
     amount of the contributions of a telecommunications carrier 
     to the universal service fund in any year is equal to the 
     amount of the receipts of the telecommunications carrier from 
     its customers in such year for purposes of contributions to 
     the fund.
       (2) Additional contributions.--If the Commission determines 
     as a result of a review under paragraph (1) that the amount 
     of the receipts of a telecommunications carrier from its 
     customers in a year for purposes of contributions to the 
     universal service fund exceeded the amount contributed by the 
     carrier in such year to the fund, the Commission shall have 
     the authority to require the carrier to deposit in the fund 
     an amount equal to the amount of such excess.
       (d) Covered Charges.--For purposes of subsection (a), a 
     covered charge shall include any charge on a bill for 
     telecommunications services that is separate from a per-
     minute rate charge, including a universal service charge, a 
     subscriber line charge, and a presubscribed interexchange 
     carrier charge.

     SEC. 7. TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER DEFINED.

       In this Act, the term ``telecommunications carrier'' has 
     the meaning given that term in section 3(44) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(44)).
                                 ______