Frank Pallone: “To close. Mr. Speaker, Americans are receiving more unwanted and illegal robocalls than ever before. The rising tide of…”

“To close. Mr. Speaker, Americans are receiving more unwanted and illegal robocalls than ever before. The rising tide of illegal robocalls has quickly turned from a nuisance to a real threat on the way we all view and use our telephones. Consumers need more control and transparency over who is calling them. The laws that prohibit unwanted calls and the Do Not Call Registry no longer effectively protect consumers from unwanted or illegal calls because it is easier than ever to become a robocaller. These calls all undermine the public's trust in our phone system. If we don't fix this problem, it will only get worse. The TRACED Act is the best way Congress can address the deluge of spam and spam robocalls. Consumer groups and industry widely support the legislation, including Consumer Reports, AARP, the National Consumer Law Center, US Telecom, and more. Basically, what we have in this bill are commonsense, meaningful solutions that will put consumers back in control of their phones and will help restore trust in our phone system. Now, in closing, I just want to thank all of the Members and staff who were able to work together to produce this great legislation, and there are a lot: obviously, our ranking member, Mr. Walden, the subcommittee ranking member, Mr. Latta, as well as Mr. Doyle. But I also want to thank our staff and other Members who contributed their legislation to the TRACED Act. So, Members such as Mr.…”