Spam Calls Task Force Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 721 To direct the Attorney General to convene an interagency working group to study the enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 23, 2019 Mr. CRIST (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Attorney General to convene an interagency working group to study the enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spam Calls Task Force 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in con- 7 sultation with the Federal Communications Commission, 8 shall convene an interagency working group to study the 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H721.IH H721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 721 IH enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications Act 1 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)). 2 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the study under sub- 3 section (a), the interagency working group shall— 4 (1) determine whether, and if so how, any Fed- 5 eral law, including regulations, policies, and prac- 6 tices, or budgetary or jurisdictional constraints in- 7 hibit the enforcement of such section; 8 (2) identify existing and potential Federal poli- 9 cies and programs that encourage and improve co- 10 ordination among Federal departments and agencies 11 and States, and between States, in the enforcement 12 and prevention of the violation of such section; 13 (3) identify existing and potential international 14 policies and programs that encourage and improve 15 coordination between countries in the enforcement 16 and prevention of the violation of such section (and 17 laws of foreign countries prohibiting similar con- 18 duct); and 19 (4) consider— 20 (A) the benefit and potential sources of ad- 21 ditional resources for the Federal enforcement 22 and prevention of the violation of such section; 23 (B) whether memoranda of understanding 24 regarding the enforcement and prevention of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H721.IH H721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 721 IH the violation of such section should be estab- 1 lished between— 2 (i) the States; 3 (ii) the States and the Federal Gov- 4 ernment; and 5 (iii) the Federal Government and for- 6 eign governments; 7 (C) whether a process should be estab- 8 lished to allow States to request Federal sub- 9 poenas from the Federal Communications Com- 10 mission with respect to the enforcement of such 11 section; 12 (D) whether increased criminal penalties 13 for the violation of such section (including in- 14 creasing the amount of fines and increasing the 15 maximum term of imprisonment that may be 16 imposed to a period greater than 2 years) are 17 appropriate; 18 (E) whether regulation of any entity that 19 enters into a business arrangement with a car- 20 rier for the specific purpose of carrying, rout- 21 ing, or transmitting a call that constitutes a 22 violation of such section would assist in the suc- 23 cessful enforcement and prevention of the viola- 24 tion of such section; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H721.IH H721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 721 IH (F) the extent to which the prosecution of 1 certain violations of such section (which result 2 in economic, physical, or emotional harm) pur- 3 suant to any Department of Justice policy may 4 inhibit or otherwise interfere with the prosecu- 5 tion of other violations of such section. 6 (c) MEMBERS.—The interagency working group shall 7 be composed of such representatives of Federal depart- 8 ments and agencies as the Attorney General considers ap- 9 propriate, which may include— 10 (1) the Department of Commerce; 11 (2) the Department of State; 12 (3) the Department of Homeland Security; 13 (4) the Federal Communications Commission; 14 (5) the Federal Trade Commission; and 15 (6) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec- 16 tion. 17 (d) NON-FEDERAL STAKEHOLDERS.—In carrying 18 out the study under subsection (a), the interagency work- 19 ing group shall consult with such non-Federal stake- 20 holders as the Attorney General determines have relevant 21 expertise, including the National Association of Attorneys 22 General. 23 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 9 24 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H721.IH H721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 721 IH interagency working group shall submit to the Committee 1 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com- 2 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 3 on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on the Judi- 4 ciary of the House of Representatives a report on the find- 5 ings of the study under subsection (a), including— 6 (1) any recommendations regarding the enforce- 7 ment and prevention of the violation of such section; 8 and 9 (2) a description of what process, if any, rel- 10 evant Federal departments and agencies have made 11 in implementing the recommendations under para- 12 graph (1). 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H721.IH H721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS