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 Committee 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spam Calls Task Force 

5 Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in con8 sultation with the Federal Communications Commission, 

9 shall convene an interagency working group to study the 


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1 enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications Act 

2 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)). 

3 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the study under sub4 section (a), the interagency working group shall— 

5 (1) determine whether, and if so how, any Fed6 eral law, including regulations, policies, and prac7 tices, or budgetary or jurisdictional constraints in8 hibit the enforcement of such section; 

9 (2) identify existing and potential Federal poli10 cies and programs that encourage and improve co11 ordination among Federal departments and agencies 

12 and States, and between States, in the enforcement 

13 and prevention of the violation of such section; 

14 (3) identify existing and potential international 

15 policies and programs that encourage and improve 

16 coordination between countries in the enforcement 

17 and prevention of the violation of such section (and 

18 laws of foreign countries prohibiting similar con19 duct); and 

20 (4) consider— 

21 (A) the benefit and potential sources of ad22 ditional resources for the Federal enforcement 

23 and prevention of the violation of such section; 

24 (B) whether memoranda of understanding 

25 regarding the enforcement and prevention of 


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1 the violation of such section should be estab2 lished between— 

3 (i) the States; 

4 (ii) the States and the Federal Gov5 ernment; and 

6 (iii) the Federal Government and for7 eign governments; 

8 (C) whether a process should be estab9 lished to allow States to request Federal sub10 poenas from the Federal Communications Com11 mission with respect to the enforcement of such 

12 section; 

13 (D) whether increased criminal penalties 

14 for the violation of such section (including in15 creasing the amount of fines and increasing the 

16 maximum term of imprisonment that may be 

17 imposed to a period greater than 2 years) are 

18 appropriate; 

19 (E) whether regulation of any entity that 

20 enters into a business arrangement with a car21 rier for the specific purpose of carrying, rout22 ing, or transmitting a call that constitutes a 

23 violation of such section would assist in the suc24 cessful enforcement and prevention of the viola25 tion of such section; and 


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1 (F) the extent to which the prosecution of 

2 certain violations of such section (which result 

3 in economic, physical, or emotional harm) pur4 suant to any Department of Justice policy may 

5 inhibit or otherwise interfere with the prosecu6 tion of other violations of such section. 

7 (c) MEMBERS.—The interagency working group shall 

8 be composed of such representatives of Federal depart9 ments and agencies as the Attorney General considers ap10 propriate, which may include— 

11 (1) the Department of Commerce; 

12 (2) the Department of State; 

13 (3) the Department of Homeland Security; 

14 (4) the Federal Communications Commission; 

15 (5) the Federal Trade Commission; and 

16 (6) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec17 tion. 

18 (d) NON-FEDERAL STAKEHOLDERS.—In carrying 

19 out the study under subsection (a), the interagency work20 ing group shall consult with such non-Federal stake21 holders as the Attorney General determines have relevant 

22 expertise, including the National Association of Attorneys 

23 General. 

24 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 9 

25 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 


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1 interagency working group shall submit to the Committee 

2 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com3 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

4 on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on the Judi5 ciary of the House of Representatives a report on the find6 ings of the study under subsection (a), including— 

7 (1) any recommendations regarding the enforce8 ment and prevention of the violation of such section; 

9 and 

10 (2) a description of what process, if any, rel11 evant Federal departments and agencies have made 

12 in implementing the recommendations under para13 graph (1). 

Æ 


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