H.R. 6449

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 6449 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6449 To modify the penalties for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1993. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 4, 2025 Mr. Kustoff (for himself, Ms. Ross, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Perez, Mr. Panetta, and Mr. Strong) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To modify the penalties for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1993. 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 ``Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone Calls Act of 2025'' or the ``DO NOT Call Act''. SEC. 2. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 1993. (a) Criminal Penalties.-- (1) In general.--Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(k) Criminal Penalties.-- ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who willfully and knowingly violates this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 1 year, fined under title 18, United States Code, or both. ``(2) Aggravated offense.--Any person who willfully and knowingly violates this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 3 years, fined under title 18, United States Code, or both if-- ``(A) the person has previously been convicted under this subsection; ``(B) the offense involved initiating more than-- ``(i) 100,000 calls in a 24-hour period; ``(ii) 1,000,000 calls in a 30-day period; or ``(iii) 10,000,000 calls in a 1-year period; ``(C) the person committed the offense with the intent to use the calls in furtherance of a felony or conspiracy to commit a felony; or ``(D) the offense caused loss to 1 or more persons aggregating $5,000 or more in value during any 1-year period. ``(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection-- ``(A) the term `call' includes a message or other communication sent to any North American Numbering Plan number, including an emergency telephone number, that is-- ``(i) initiated to communicate with or attempt to communicate with a person by telephone using an automatic telephone dialing system or artificial or prerecorded voice; or ``(ii) a text message sent to a mobile phone using an automatic telephone dialing system-- ``(I) without the prior consent of the recipient to receive the message; or ``(II) as an emergency message; and ``(B) the term `initiate', with respect to a call, includes the act of sending, making, or transmitting the call.''. (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--Section 227(e)(5)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(5)(B)) is amended, in the second sentence, by striking ``section 501'' and inserting ``subsection (k)''. (b) Increased Penalties for Provision of Inaccurate Caller Identification Information.--Section 227(e)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(5)) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$20,000''; and (2) in subparagraph (B), in the first sentence, by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$20,000''. <all>