Rep. Subramanyam Introduces Bipartisan Stop Spam Calls Act

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representatives Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) and Jefferson Shreve (IN-06) introduced the Stop Spam Calls Act to crack down on spam calls and texts by empowering the FCC to better protect consumers. The bill requires each telemarketer wanting to send robocalls or robotexts to a consumer to directly get their explicit, written consent. Under current law, businesses can ask consumers to consent to telemarketing calls from them and thousands of their marketing partners with a single check box.

"Families shouldn't be subjected to unwanted telemarketing robocalls from thousands of businesses. In an age where Americans have become far too used to their information being sold to the highest bidder behind their backs, Congress needs to take action to protect people's privacy. The Stop Spam Calls Act will reign in robocall abuses and reestablish the power of consent for consumers," said Congressman Subramanyam.

"Giving one company permission to call you shouldn't open the door to calls from countless others. Your phone number shouldn't be passed around without your say," said Congressman Shreve. "The Stop Spam Calls Act closes that loophole. Americans should decide who has permission to call them."

"The Stop Spam Calls Act would reinstate a repealed FCC protection aimed at reducing the billions of unwanted telemarketing calls that arrive on our phones every day," said Christine Hines, senior policy director at the National Association of Consumer Advocates. "This bill, which requires consumers to provide written consent to each marketer or seller before receiving certain robocalls or robotexts, would help to restore trust in our communications."

"When we interact with a business, we don't expect that they will share our phone number with hundreds of other sellers," said NCL Senior Public Policy Manager Eden Iscil. "This legislation would give control back to the public over how our contact information is shared. Congress should not delay in reinstating the FCC's commonsense policy that outlawed these predatory practices."

"Online shopping shouldn't mean endless spam robocalls from thousands of companies you've never even heard of," said Patrick Crotty, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "The Stop Spam Calls Act would restore FCC rules that checked these abuses and limit intrusive robocalls."

The bill was cosponsored by Reps. Raja Krishamoorthi, Andre Carson, George Whitesides, and John Mannion. It was endorsed by the following organizations: Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America (CFA), National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and National Consumers League (NCL).

View the full bill here.

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