Pallone, Walden See Progress on Anti-Robocalls Compromise; Markup Soon?
House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., separately confirmed to us Tuesday and Wednesday they're very close to, but haven't yet reached a compromise on a bill that combines elements from the Stopping Bad…
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Robocalls Act (HR-946) and six other anti-robocall measures the House Communications Subcommittee examined in April (see 1904300212). A markup of the compromise bill could occur next week if a deal is reached soon enough, lobbyists told us. “We're getting to a better place” and that could mean progress forward within a matter of days, Walden said. “Our staffs are doing a good job of working things out,” though “it's not what we would do if we were in the majority. But guess what? We're not in the majority.” Walden noted recent input from stakeholder groups, including concerns about fines proposed in the bill. “That makes people nervous, so we're getting a lot of 'what ifs' because there are some valid autodial calls that you do want about your prescription or your bank card,” he said. “It's more trying to work through that and get it right.” Reps. Donald McEachin, D-Va., and Pete Olson, R-Texas, meanwhile, led Tuesday filing of the Locking Up Robocallers Act. The bill would direct the FCC Enforcement Bureau to give the attorney general any evidence it obtains “that suggests a willful, knowing, and repeated robocall violation with an intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.”