H.R. 6152

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6152 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6152

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a 
taskforce on unlawful robocalls, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 19, 2025

Mr. McDowell (for himself, Ms. Morrison, Mr. Steube, and Mr. Panetta) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a 
taskforce on unlawful robocalls, and for other purposes.

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 ``Foreign Robocall Elimination Act''.

SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY TASKFORCE ON UNLAWFUL ROBOCALLS.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
Communications Commission.
(2) Consortium.--The term ``Consortium'' means the 
consortium described in section 13(d) of the Pallone-Thune 
TRACED Act (Public Law 116-105).
(3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the 
meaning given the term ``agency'' in section 551 of title 5, 
United States Code.
(4) Taskforce.--The term ``taskforce'' means the taskforce 
on unlawful robocalls established under subsection (b).
(5) Unlawful robocall.--The term ``unlawful robocall'' 
means a telephone call made in violation of subsection (b) or 
(e) of section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
227).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission, after consultation with the 
Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General, shall establish a 
taskforce on unlawful robocalls.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The taskforce shall be composed of the 
following members:
(A)(i) A representative of each Federal agency that 
the Chairman of the Commission, in consultation with 
the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and the 
Attorney General, considers appropriate.
(ii) With respect to each Federal agency considered 
under clause (i) to be appropriate, the Chairman of the 
Commission shall appoint a representative of that 
Federal agency to the taskforce based on the 
recommendations of the head of that Federal agency.
(B) Seven representatives of private sector 
entities, to be appointed as described in paragraph 
(2)--
(i) 3 of whom shall be representatives from 
private sector entities with expertise in 
combating unlawful robocalls, including--
(I) voice service providers;
(II) analytics providers;
(III) technologists; and
(IV) technology experts;
(ii) 1 of whom shall be a representative 
from the Consortium;
(iii) 1 of whom shall be a representative 
of a marketing business that communicates with 
consumers by telephone as part of the normal 
course of business of that marketing business;
(iv) 1 of whom shall be a representative of 
a business or nonprofit organization that 
communicates with consumers by telephone for 
non-marketing purposes on a regular basis; and
(v) 1 of whom shall be a representative of 
an organization that advocates on behalf of 
customers and who has relevant experience and 
expertise in combating unlawful robocalls.
(2) Appointment of representatives of private sector 
entities.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any provision of 
chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, the members 
of the taskforce described in paragraph (1)(B) shall be 
jointly appointed by the Chairman of the Commission, 
the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and the 
Attorney General.
(B) Inability to reach agreement.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clauses (ii) 
and (iii), if the Chairman of the Commission, 
the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, 
and the Attorney General cannot reach agreement 
regarding an appointment described in 
subparagraph (A), as determined by the Chairman 
of the Commission, the Chairman of the 
Commission shall make that appointment.
(ii) Notice of appointments.--Not later 
than 48 hours before appointing a member to the 
taskforce under clause (i), the Chairman of the 
Commission shall provide notice of the proposed 
appointment to the commissioners of the 
Commission.
(iii) Request for vote.--If, after 
receiving notice under clause (ii) of a 
proposed appointment under clause (i), a 
commissioner of the Commission requests that 
the proposed appointment be subject to a vote 
of the Commission, the Chairman of the 
Commission may not make that appointment unless 
a majority of the commissioners of the 
Commission vote to approve the appointment.
(d) Report.--
(1) In general.--The taskforce shall prepare a report on 
unlawful robocalls, which shall contain recommendations and 
advice for Federal agencies with jurisdiction relevant to 
combating unlawful robocalls, and for Congress, regarding the 
most effective ways to combat unlawful robocalls made into the 
United States from outside the United States.
(2) Matters to be studied.--In preparing the report 
required under paragraph (1), the taskforce shall--
(A) compare the estimated number of suspected 
unlawful robocalls made within the United States with 
the estimated number of unlawful robocalls made into 
the United States from outside the United States;
(B) determine which foreign countries serve as the 
foreign points of departure for the highest volume of 
unlawful robocalls made into the United States;
(C) determine the magnitude of financial loss and 
the number of instances of stolen identity that occur 
within the United States each year as a result of 
unlawful robocalls made from outside the United States;
(D) examine methods for encouraging the adoption of 
caller identification authentication technology in 
foreign countries;
(E) examine and provide information on options for 
how countries can collaborate on solutions to 
authenticate and verify international calls, including 
relevant analytics relating to unlawful robocalls and 
technical options that can be used with respect to that 
authentication and verification;
(F) examine how better implementation of technical 
solutions, such as traceback and caller identification 
authentication technology in foreign originating 
countries, would improve coordination between the 
United States and foreign countries in combating 
unlawful robocalls;
(G) determine whether--
(i) the technical standards commonly known 
as ``STIR/SHAKEN'' adequately provide call 
authentication for unlawful robocalls from 
foreign originating providers or foreign 
intermediate providers through gateway 
providers in the United States; and
(ii) it would be desirable to encourage 
other countries to adopt the standards 
described in clause (i);
(H) examine ways to provide incentives to foreign 
countries to cooperate with law enforcement efforts in 
the United States to combat unlawful robocalls;
(I) examine whether any Federal agency, or any 
other organization, that combats unlawful robocalls 
needs additional resources in order to more effectively 
combat unlawful robocalls made into the United States 
from outside the United States;
(J) specifically consider whether the ability of 
the Attorney General to conduct enforcement activities 
with respect to unlawful robocalls would be increased 
through the establishment of an office within the 
Department of Justice dedicated to those enforcement 
activities;
(K) examine how increased criminal penalties based 
on the volume of unlawful robocalls could help prevent 
unlawful robocalls made into the United States;
(L) examine how many enforcement activities the 
Attorney General has undertaken in the year preceding 
the date on which the preparation of the report begins, 
including in response to referrals made by the 
Commission;
(M) specifically determine how the Attorney General 
has pursued forfeiture amounts in enforcement 
activities with respect to unlawful robocalls;
(N) seek input, as appropriate, from technologists 
and private sector innovators to find solutions for 
combating unlawful robocalls;
(O) identify a list of best practices regarding the 
identification and blocking of unlawful robocalls that 
telephone service providers and providers of technology 
solutions can voluntarily implement to improve the 
effectiveness of mitigating unlawful robocalls made 
into the United States from outside the United States;
(P) evaluate whether requiring periodic public 
disclosure, in whole or in part, of the results of 
trace backs conducted by the Consortium would impact 
the integrity and effectiveness of the trace back 
process of the Consortium, including by--
(i) revealing investigative methods;
(ii) allowing consumers and businesses to 
avoid providers with a track record of making 
unlawful robocalls;
(iii) exposing proprietary, competitively 
sensitive, or confidential information of 
legitimate providers or entities;
(iv) strengthening accountability and 
deterrence;
(v) enabling the initiators of unlawful 
robocalls to evade detection, adapt tactics, or 
exploit system vulnerabilities;
(vi) improving the efforts of voice service 
providers to block calls that are determined to 
be unwanted based on reasonable analytics;
(vii) impeding cooperation with future law 
enforcement investigations or future consumer 
protection efforts; or
(viii) ensuring fairness in the reporting 
of trace back information; and
(Q) examine mechanisms for improving compliance 
with the requirements imposed pursuant to sections 6 
and 7 of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (47 U.S.C. 227b-
1, 227 note).
(3) Report to congress.--Not later than 360 days after the 
date on which the taskforce is established under subsection 
(b), the taskforce shall submit to Congress the report prepared 
under this subsection.
(e) Use of Funds.--Notwithstanding section 1346 of title 31, United 
States Code, funds made available by this or any other Act to the 
Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Department of Justice 
may be used by the applicable Federal agency for coordination with, 
participation in, or recommendations involving the taskforce, as 
required under this section.
(f) Termination.--The taskforce shall terminate on the date that is 
90 days after the date on which the taskforce submits to Congress the 
report prepared under subsection (d), as required under paragraph (3) 
of that subsection.

SEC. 3. FCC NOTICE PROVISION.

Section 13(d)(2) of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public Law 116-
105) is amended by striking ``annually'' and inserting ``once every 3 
years''.

SEC. 4. ROBOCALL MITIGATION DATABASE.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
Communications Commission.
(2) Robocall mitigation database.--The term ``Robocall 
Mitigation Database'' has the meaning given the term in section 
64.6300 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
successor regulation.
(3) Unlawful robocall.--The term ``unlawful robocall'' has 
the meaning given the term in section 2(a).
(b) Bond Requirement.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall issue rules to 
require that, subject to the other provisions of this section, 
before a provider may file a certification to the Robocall 
Mitigation Database, the provider shall post a bond in an 
amount that is not more than $100,000, if the Commission 
determines that posting such a bond is necessary to preserve 
the integrity of the Robocall Mitigation Database.
(2) Excepted providers.--
(A) In general.--In issuing rules under paragraph 
(1), the Commission shall establish criteria to exempt 
a provider from the requirement to post a bond 
described in that paragraph if that requirement, as 
applied to the provider, is not necessary to deter 
unlawful robocall activity.
(B) Considerations.--In establishing criteria under 
subparagraph (A), the Commission shall require 
consideration of whether a provider--
(i) is registered with the Commission under 
section 64.1195 of title 47, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or any successor regulation) and 
makes contributions under section 254(d) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d));
(ii) holds a certificate of authority, 
license, or registration with a State public 
utility commission;
(iii) is an issuer, the securities of which 
are listed on a national securities exchange; 
and
(iv) otherwise presents indicia of being a 
bona fide, established communications service 
provider, such that requiring the provider to 
post a bond under paragraph (1) would impose 
unnecessary burdens without materially 
improving enforcement of section 227 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227).
(c) Implementation.--In implementing this section, the Commission 
shall--
(1) require the posting of a bond under subsection (b)(1) 
from providers that do not demonstrate--
(A) legitimate, ongoing operations;
(B) regulatory oversight sufficient to ensure 
accountability; or
(C) the ability to pay fines or forfeitures imposed 
by the Commission or other governmental enforcement 
authorities with respect to violations of Federal or 
State laws or regulations;
(2) establish categorical exemptions for identifiable 
classes of legitimate providers that satisfy the criteria 
established under subsection (b)(2); and
(3) minimize administrative and financial burdens on 
compliant, established, and regulated providers while ensuring 
effective enforcement of section 227 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227).

SEC. 5. 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 TRACED 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 the 
registered consortium for receiving, sharing, or 
publishing covered information or information derived 
from covered information.''.
(b) Publication of List of Voice Service Providers.--Section 13(e) 
of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public Law 116-105; 133 Stat. 3288) is 
amended to read as follows:
``(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).''.
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