[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 87 (Thursday, May 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3075-S3077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TELEPHONE ROBOCALL ABUSE CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT AND DETERRENCE ACT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the consideration of S. 151.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 151) to deter criminal robocall violations and 
     improve enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications 
     Act of 1934, and for other purposes.

  Thereupon, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, which had been 
reported from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 
with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in 
lieu thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Telephone Robocall Abuse 
     Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act'' or the ``TRACED 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FORFEITURE.

       (a) In General.--Section 227 of the Communications Act of 
     1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) Civil forfeiture.--
       ``(A) In general.--Any person that is determined by the 
     Commission, in accordance with paragraph (3) or (4) of 
     section 503(b), to have violated any provision of this 
     subsection shall be liable to the United States for a 
     forfeiture penalty pursuant to section 503(b)(1). The amount 
     of the forfeiture penalty determined under this subparagraph 
     shall be determined in accordance with subparagraphs (A) 
     through (F) of section 503(b)(2).
       ``(B) Violation with intent.--Any person that is determined 
     by the Commission, in accordance with paragraph (3) or (4) of 
     section 503(b), to have violated this subsection with the 
     intent to cause such violation shall be liable to the United 
     States for a forfeiture penalty. The amount of the forfeiture 
     penalty determined under this subparagraph shall be equal to 
     an amount determined in accordance with subparagraphs (A) 
     through (F) of section 503(b)(2) plus an additional penalty 
     not to exceed $10,000.
       ``(C) Recovery.--Any forfeiture penalty determined under 
     subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be recoverable under section 
     504(a).
       ``(D) Procedure.--No forfeiture liability shall be 
     determined under subparagraph (A) or (B) against any person 
     unless such person receives the notice required by paragraph 
     (3) or (4) of section 503(b).
       ``(E) Statute of limitations.--No forfeiture penalty shall 
     be determined or imposed against any person--
       ``(i) under subparagraph (A) if the violation charged 
     occurred more than 1 year prior to the date of issuance of 
     the required notice or notice of apparent liability; and
       ``(ii) under subparagraph (B) if the violation charged 
     occurred more than 3 years prior to the date of issuance of 
     the required notice or notice of apparent liability.
       ``(F) Rule of construction.--Notwithstanding any law to the 
     contrary, the Commission may not determine or impose a 
     forfeiture penalty on a person under both subparagraphs (A) 
     and (B) based on the same conduct.''; and
       (2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:
       ``(h) TCPA Enforcement Report.--The Commission shall submit 
     an annual report to Congress regarding the enforcement during 
     the preceding year of laws, regulations, and policies 
     relating to robocalls and spoofed calls, which report shall 
     include--
       ``(1) the number of complaints received by the Commission 
     during the year alleging that a consumer received a robocall 
     or spoofed call;
       ``(2) the number of citations issued by the Commission 
     pursuant to section 503 during the year to enforce any law, 
     regulation, or policy relating to a robocall or spoofed call;
       ``(3) the number of notices of apparent liability issued by 
     the Commission pursuant to section 503 during the year to 
     enforce any law, regulation, or policy relating to a robocall 
     or spoofed call; and
       ``(4) for each notice referred to in paragraph (3)--
       ``(A) the amount of the proposed forfeiture penalty 
     involved;
       ``(B) the person to whom the notice was issued; and
       ``(C) the status of the proceeding.''.
       (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall not affect any action or proceeding commenced before 
     and pending on the date of enactment of this Act.
       (c) Deadline for Regulations.--The Federal Communications 
     Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the 
     amendments made by this section not later than 270 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. CALL AUTHENTICATION.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework.--The term ``STIR/
     SHAKEN authentication framework'' means the secure telephone 
     identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted 
     information using tokens standards proposed by the 
     information and communications technology industry.
       (2) Voice service.--The term ``voice service''--
       (A) means any service that is interconnected with the 
     public switched telephone network and that furnishes voice 
     communications to an end user using resources from the North 
     American Numbering Plan or any successor to the North 
     American Numbering Plan adopted by the Commission under 
     section 251(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 251(e)(1)); and
       (B) includes--
       (i) transmissions from a telephone facsimile machine, 
     computer, or other device to a telephone facsimile machine; 
     and
       (ii) without limitation, any service that enables real-
     time, two-way voice communications, including any service 
     that requires internet protocol-compatible customer premises 
     equipment (commonly known as ``CPE'') and permits out-bound 
     calling, whether or not the service is one-way or two-way 
     voice over internet protocol.
       (b) Authentication Framework.--
       (1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), not 
     later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
     the Federal Communications Commission shall require a 
     provider of voice service to implement the STIR/SHAKEN 
     authentication framework in the internet protocol networks of 
     the voice service provider.
       (2) Implementation.--The Federal Communications Commission 
     shall not take the action described in paragraph (1) if the 
     Commission determines that a provider of voice service, not 
     later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this 
     Act--
       (A) has adopted the STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework 
     for calls on the internet protocol networks of the voice 
     service provider;
       (B) has agreed voluntarily to participate with other 
     providers of voice service in the STIR/SHAKEN authentication 
     framework;
       (C) has begun to implement the STIR/SHAKEN authentication 
     framework; and
       (D) will be capable of fully implementing the STIR/SHAKEN 
     authentication framework not later than 18 months after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (3) Implementation report.--Not later than 12 months after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
     Commission

[[Page S3076]]

     shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
     Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on the 
     determination required under paragraph (2), which shall 
     include--
       (A) an analysis of the extent to which providers of a voice 
     service have implemented the STIR/SHAKEN authentication 
     framework, including whether the availability of necessary 
     equipment and equipment upgrades has impacted such 
     implementation; and
       (B) an assessment of the efficacy of the STIR/SHAKEN 
     authentication framework, as being implemented under this 
     section, in addressing all aspects of call authentication.
       (4) Review and revision or replacement.--Not later than 3 
     years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 
     years thereafter, the Federal Communications Commission, 
     after public notice and an opportunity for comment, shall--
       (A) assess the efficacy of the call authentication 
     framework implemented under this section;
       (B) based on the assessment under subparagraph (A), revise 
     or replace the call authentication framework under this 
     section if the Commission determines it is in the public 
     interest to do so; and
       (C) submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
     Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on the 
     findings of the assessment under subparagraph (A) and on any 
     actions to revise or replace the call authentication 
     framework under subparagraph (B).
       (5) Extension of implementation deadline.--The Federal 
     Communications Commission may extend any deadline for the 
     implementation of a call authentication framework required 
     under this section by 12 months or such further amount of 
     time as the Commission determines necessary if the Commission 
     determines that purchasing or upgrading equipment to support 
     call authentication, or lack of availability of such 
     equipment, would constitute a substantial hardship in meeting 
     such deadline for a provider or category of providers of 
     voice service.
       (c) Safe Harbor and Other Regulations.--
       (1) In general.--The Federal Communications Commission 
     shall promulgate rules--
       (A) establishing when a provider of voice service may block 
     a voice call based, in whole or in part, on information 
     provided by the call authentication framework under 
     subsection (b);
       (B) establishing a safe harbor for a provider of voice 
     service from liability for unintended or inadvertent blocking 
     of calls or for the unintended or inadvertent 
     misidentification of the level of trust for individual calls 
     based, in whole or in part, on information provided by the 
     call authentication framework under subsection (b); and
       (C) establishing a process to permit a calling party 
     adversely affected by the information provided by the call 
     authentication framework under subsection (b) to verify the 
     authenticity of the calling party's calls.
       (2) Considerations.--In establishing the safe harbor under 
     paragraph (1), the Federal Communications Commission shall 
     consider limiting the liability of a provider of voice 
     service based on the extent to which the provider of voice 
     service--
       (A) blocks or identifies calls based, in whole or in part, 
     on the information provided by the call authentication 
     framework under subsection (b);
       (B) implemented procedures based, in whole or in part, on 
     the information provided by the call authentication framework 
     under subsection (b); and
       (C) used reasonable care.
       (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     preclude the Federal Communications Commission from 
     initiating a rulemaking pursuant to its existing statutory 
     authority.

     SEC. 4. PROTECTIONS FROM SPOOFED CALLS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and consistent with the call 
     authentication framework under section 3, the Federal 
     Communications Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to help 
     protect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or text 
     messages from a caller using an unauthenticated number.
       (b) Considerations.--In promulgating rules under subsection 
     (a), the Federal Communications Commission shall consider--
       (1) the Government Accountability Office report on 
     combating the fraudulent provision of misleading or 
     inaccurate caller identification required by section 503(c) 
     of division P of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018 
     (Public Law 115-141);
       (2) the best means of ensuring that a subscriber or 
     provider has the ability to block calls from a caller using 
     an unauthenticated North American Numbering Plan number;
       (3) the impact on the privacy of a subscriber from 
     unauthenticated calls;
       (4) the effectiveness in verifying the accuracy of caller 
     identification information; and
       (5) the availability and cost of providing protection from 
     the unwanted calls or text messages described in subsection 
     (a).

     SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General, in consultation with 
     the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, shall 
     convene an interagency working group to study Government 
     prosecution of violations of section 227(b) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)).
       (b) Duties.--In carrying out the study under subsection 
     (a), the interagency working group shall--
       (1) determine whether, and if so how, any Federal laws, 
     including regulations, policies, and practices, or budgetary 
     or jurisdictional constraints inhibit the prosecution of such 
     violations;
       (2) identify existing and potential Federal policies and 
     programs that encourage and improve coordination among 
     Federal departments and agencies and States, and between 
     States, in the prevention and prosecution of such violations;
       (3) identify existing and potential international policies 
     and programs that encourage and improve coordination between 
     countries in the prevention and prosecution of such 
     violations; and
       (4) consider--
       (A) the benefit and potential sources of additional 
     resources for the Federal prevention and prosecution of 
     criminal violations of that section;
       (B) whether to establish memoranda of understanding 
     regarding the prevention and prosecution of such violations 
     between--
       (i) the States;
       (ii) the States and the Federal Government; and
       (iii) the Federal Government and a foreign government;
       (C) whether to establish a process to allow States to 
     request Federal subpoenas from the Federal Communications 
     Commission;
       (D) whether extending civil enforcement authority to the 
     States would assist in the successful prevention and 
     prosecution of such violations;
       (E) whether increased forfeiture and imprisonment penalties 
     are appropriate, such as extending imprisonment for such a 
     violation to a term longer than 2 years;
       (F) whether regulation of any entity that enters into a 
     business arrangement with a common carrier regulated under 
     title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et 
     seq.) for the specific purpose of carrying, routing, or 
     transmitting a call that constitutes such a violation would 
     assist in the successful prevention and prosecution of such 
     violations; and
       (G) the extent to which, if any, Department of Justice 
     policies to pursue the prosecution of violations causing 
     economic harm, physical danger, or erosion of an inhabitant's 
     peace of mind and sense of security inhibits the prevention 
     or prosecution of such violations.
       (c) Members.--The interagency working group shall be 
     composed of such representatives of Federal departments and 
     agencies as the Attorney General considers appropriate, such 
     as--
       (1) the Department of Commerce;
       (2) the Department of State;
       (3) the Department of Homeland Security;
       (4) the Federal Communications Commission;
       (5) the Federal Trade Commission; and
       (6) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
       (d) Non-Federal Stakeholders.--In carrying out the study 
     under subsection (a), the interagency working group shall 
     consult with such non-Federal stakeholders as the Attorney 
     General determines have the relevant expertise, including the 
     National Association of Attorneys General.
       (e) Report to Congress.--Not later than 270 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the interagency working group 
     shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
     Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on the 
     findings of the study under subsection (a), including--
       (1) any recommendations regarding the prevention and 
     prosecution of such violations; and
       (2) a description of what progress, if any, relevant 
     Federal departments and agencies have made in implementing 
     the recommendations under paragraph (1).

     SEC. 6. ACCESS TO NUMBER RESOURCES.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Examination of fcc policies.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 
     Communications Commission shall commence a proceeding to 
     determine whether Federal Communications Commission policies 
     regarding access to number resources, including number 
     resources for toll free and non-toll free telephone numbers, 
     could be modified, including by establishing registration and 
     compliance obligations, to help reduce access to numbers by 
     potential perpetrators of violations of section 227(b) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)).
       (2) Regulations.--If the Federal Communications Commission 
     determines under paragraph (1) that modifying the policies 
     described in that paragraph could help achieve the goal 
     described in that paragraph, the Commission shall prescribe 
     regulations to implement those policy modifications.
       (b) Authority.--Any person who knowingly, through an 
     employee, agent, officer, or otherwise, directly or 
     indirectly, by or through any means or device whatsoever, is 
     a party to obtaining number resources, including number 
     resources for toll free and non-toll free telephone numbers, 
     from a common carrier regulated under title II of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), in 
     violation of a regulation prescribed under subsection (a) of 
     this section, shall, notwithstanding section 503(b)(5) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(5)), be subject 
     to a forfeiture penalty under section 503 of that Act. A 
     forfeiture penalty under this subsection shall be in addition 
     to any other penalty provided for by law.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the committee-
reported substitute amendment is agreed to.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill for 
the third time.

[[Page S3077]]

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill, as amended, pass?
  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe) and the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. 
Rounds).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 127 Leg.]

                                YEAS--97

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blackburn
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Braun
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harris
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McConnell
     McSally
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rosen
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--1

       
     Paul
       

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Inhofe
     Rounds
       
  The bill (S. 151), as amended, was passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table.
  The Senator from Texas.

                          ____________________