[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 216 (Saturday, December 19, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7852-S7853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DATA ANALYTICS ROBOCALL TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 2019

  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 585, S. 2204.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2204) to allow the Federal Communications 
     Commission to carry out a pilot program under which voice 
     service providers could block certain automated calls, and 
     for other purposes.

  There being no objection, 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 ``Data Analytics Robocall 
     Technology Act of 2019'' or the ``DART Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act--
       (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Communications Commission;
       (2) the term ``covered ruling'' means the ``Declaratory 
     Ruling and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the 
     matter of Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful 
     Robocalls'', adopted by the Commission on June 6, 2019 (FCC 
     19-51; CG Docket No. 17-59);
       (3) the term ``public safety answering point'' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)); and
       (4) the term ``voice service'' means any service that--
       (A) is interconnected with the public switched telephone 
     network; and
       (B) 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)).

     SEC. 3. RULEMAKING.

        Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to 
     consider establishing a process under which the Commission 
     shall maintain a list of numbers that are not eligible to be 
     blocked by a voice service provider, which may include a 
     number used--
       (1) for outgoing calls by a public safety answering point 
     or a similar facility that is designated to originate or 
     route emergency calls;
       (2) to originate calls from a government entity, such as a 
     call generated during an emergency;
       (3) by a school, or a similar institution, to provide 
     school-related notifications, such as a notification 
     regarding--
       (A) a weather-related closure; or
       (B) the existence of an emergency affecting a school or 
     students attending a school; and
       (4) for similar or emergency purposes, as determined 
     appropriate by the Commission.

[[Page S7853]]

  


     SEC. 4. REPORTS ON DEPLOYMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CALL 
                   BLOCKING AND CALLER ID AUTHENTICATION.

       Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
     Commission receives any report under paragraph 90 of the 
     covered ruling, the Commission 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--
       (1) an analysis by the Commission with respect to the 
     effectiveness of various categories of call blocking tools, 
     as evaluated in the report; and
       (2) any legislative recommendations of the Commission 
     relating to the report.

     SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this Act may be construed to impede or delay the 
     analysis by the Commission of the most effective means by 
     which to maintain and administer a list of numbers that may 
     not be blocked (referred to in the covered ruling as a 
     ``Critical Calls List''), as considered in the covered 
     ruling.

  Mr. GARDNER. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported 
substitute amendment be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be 
considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The bill (S. 2204), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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