FCC Chairman Pai recently showed support for increasing enforcement action against robocall violations

Washington (February 17, 2017) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), House author of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), was joined by eight other Senators in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) encouraging Chairman Ajit Pai to take strong actions to protect consumers from unwanted calls and texts. During a recent Consumer Advisory Committee meeting, Chairman Pai reportedly discussed a number of solutions to help address this problem, including increased enforcement action and reconsideration of the Broadnet et al. Declaratory Ruling, which formally exempts government contractors from the TCPA. In 1991 Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the law that ensures that consumers should not be subject to intrusive and unsolicited calls from telemarketers.

“We are very pleased that you are committed to addressing this pressing consumer protection issue, and strongly encourage you to take the ‘aggressive action’ needed to stop unwanted calls,” write the senators in the letter to Chairman Pai. “We must ensure that government contractors are subject to meaningful rules that prohibit them from violating the consumer protections established by the TCPA.”

The letter is also signed by Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-Ore.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
 
A copy of the letter to the FCC can be found HERE.
 
In August, Senator Markey led a letter calling on the FCC to reconsider the Broadnet et al. Declaratory Ruling.

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