[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 212 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9047-S9048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. Markey):
  S. 3335. A bill to provide liability protection for the sharing of 
information regarding suspected fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful 
robocalls, illegally spoofed calls, and other illegal calls by or with 
the registered consortium that conducts private-led efforts to trace 
back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls, and for the receipt of 
such information by the registered consortium, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3335

       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 ``Robocall Trace Back 
     Enhancement Act''.

     SEC. 2. REGISTERED CONSORTIUM CONDUCTING PRIVATE-LED EFFORTS 
                   TO TRACE BACK THE ORIGIN OF SUSPECTED UNLAWFUL 
                   ROBOCALLS.

       (a) Immunity for Receiving, Sharing, and Publishing Trace 
     Back Information.--Section 13(d) of the Pallone-Thune 
     Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence 
     Act (Public Law 116-105; 133 Stat. 3287) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following:
       ``(3) Immunity for receiving, sharing, and publishing trace 
     back information.--
       ``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term `covered 
     information'--
       ``(i) means information regarding suspected--

       ``(I) fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful robocalls;
       ``(II) illegally spoofed calls; and
       ``(III) other illegal calls; and

       ``(ii) includes--

       ``(I) call detail records of calls described in clause (i);
       ``(II) the names of, and other identifying information 
     concerning, the voice service providers that originated, 
     carried, routed, and transmitted calls described in clause 
     (i); and
       ``(III) information about the entities that made calls 
     described in clause (i), including any contact information of 
     individuals that such an entity provided to the voice service 
     provider that originated the call.

       ``(B) Trace back immunity.--No cause of action shall lie or 
     be maintained in any court against--
       ``(i) the registered consortium for receiving, sharing, or 
     publishing covered information or information derived from 
     covered information; or
       ``(ii) any voice service provider or other person or entity 
     for sharing covered information with the registered 
     consortium.
       ``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subparagraph 
     (B)(ii) shall be construed to provide immunity for any act 
     other than the act of sharing covered information with the 
     registered consortium.''.
       (b) Publication of List of Voice Service Providers.--
     Section 13(e) of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse 
     Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (Public Law 116-105; 
     133 Stat. 3287) is amended to read as follows:

[[Page S9048]]

       ``(e) List of Voice Service Providers.--
       ``(1) Publication of list.--The Commission, or the 
     registered consortium in consultation with the Commission, 
     may publish a list of voice service providers based on--
       ``(A) information obtained by the consortium about voice 
     service providers that refuse to participate in private-led 
     efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful 
     robocalls; and
       ``(B) other information the Commission or the consortium 
     may collect about voice service providers that are found to 
     originate or transmit substantial amounts of unlawful 
     robocalls.
       ``(2) Enforcement.--The Commission may take enforcement 
     action based on the information described in paragraph 
     (1).''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. Wicker):
  S. 3340. A bill to establish a competitive grant program to provide 
assistance to support small businesses and business district 
revitalization in low-income, rural, and minority communities, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the 
Revitalizing Small and Local Businesses Act, which I introduced today.
  Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, historic 
underinvestment in certain communities left their small businesses and 
business districts more vulnerable to economic shocks and limited 
economic opportunities.
  Main Street programs and business district organizations have played 
an important role in supporting businesses through the economic crisis 
and will continue to play a critical role in supporting a strong, 
inclusive recovery. While many communities need place-based supportive 
services tailored to their unique needs, Federal investments have not 
meaningfully supported these entities.
  As we work to build back better, we have an opportunity to improve 
equitable access to economic development resources by leveraging the 
expertise of nonprofit partners with deep connections to small 
businesses and the organizations that serve them.
  That is why I am proud to introduce this bill together with Senator 
Wicker to create a new $250 million Economic Development Administration 
grant program to support place-based supportive services to provide on-
the-ground assistance in both urban and rural communities.
  This bill would strategically and efficiently deploy funding to 
support the vital work of local programs to revitalize small businesses 
and business districts as these communities, particularly low-income, 
rural, and minority communities, seek to recover from the devastating 
economic effects of the pandemic.
  It would support job retention and creation opportunities as well as 
deliver vital technical assistance to small businesses.
  I thank Senator Wicker for coleading this bill with me, and I hope 
our colleagues will join us in support of this bill to empower place-
based entities to respond to economic recovery needs through locally 
tailored solutions.

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