I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1304 

To require the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the Federal 

Communications Commission, to establish a robocaller bounty pilot program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2019 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself and Mr. CRIST) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation 

with the Federal Communications Commission, to establish a robocaller bounty pilot program, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. ROBOCALLER BOUNTY PILOT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade 

6 Commission, in consultation with the Federal Communica7 tions Commission, shall— 


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1 (1) establish a robocaller bounty pilot program 

2 to reduce covered calls by egregious violators; and 

3 (2) issue guidance about what constitutes an 

4 egregious violation under paragraph (1). 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing the pilot pro6 gram under subsection (a), the Federal Trade Commis7 sion, in consultation with the Federal Communications 

8 Commission, shall— 

9 (1) provide monetary compensation for the 

10 identification and prevention of covered calls; 

11 (2) develop an expeditious process for partici12 pants in the pilot program to submit an expedited 

13 background check, as determined by the Federal 

14 Trade Commission, in consultation with the Federal 

15 Communications Commission, and approval for par16 ticipation into the program; 

17 (3) develop a fee sharing structure for partici18 pants to share in funds recovered from violations re19 lated to a covered call in addition to payment for 

20 participation in program; 

21 (4) award competitive contracts as necessary to 

22 manage the pilot program and for addressing the 

23 vulnerabilities identified as a consequence of the 

24 pilot program; and 


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1 (5) solicit interested persons, including the pri2 vate sector, about the structure of the pilot program 

3 and constructive feedback. 

4 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

5 on which the pilot program is complete, the Federal Trade 

6 Commission, in consultation with the Federal Communica7 tions Commission, shall submit to the Committees on En8 ergy and Commerce and the Judiciary of the House of 

9 Representatives and the Committees on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation and the Judiciary of the Sen11 ate a report that includes the following: 

12 (1) The number of individuals and companies 

13 that were approved to participate in the pilot pro14 gram and received compensation. 

15 (2) The number of covered calls identified, 

16 prosecuted, prevented, and intercepted. 

17 (3) Changes needed in the law to address the 

18 enforcement and apprehension related to covered 

19 calls. 

20 (4) The number of prosecutions that resulted 

21 because of the program. 

22 (5) Recommendations for overseas identification 

23 and apprehension of individuals making covered 

24 calls. 


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1 (6) The obstacles encountered with appre2 hending individuals making covered calls and any 

3 other lessons learned from the pilot program. 

4 (7) The payout per participant under the pro5 gram. 

6 (d) DEFINITIONS.— 

7 (1) COVERED CALL.—The term ‘‘covered call’’ 

8 means a call that is in violation of section 227 of the 

9 Communications Act of 1947 (47 U.S.C. 227) or the 

10 do-not-call registry established under section 

11 3(a)(3)(A) of the Telemarketing and Consumer 

12 Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 

13 6102(a)(3)(A)). 

14 (2) EGREGIOUS VIOLATOR.—The term ‘‘egre15 gious violator’’— 

16 (A) means a person that makes (or causes 

17 to be made) covered calls; and 

18 (B) does not include a person that has reg19 istered with the Federal Trade Commission and 

20 demonstrated to the Federal Trade Commission 

21 that adequate procedures are in place to pre22 vent making covered calls. 

23 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec24 tion may be construed as conveying to any participant in 


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1 the pilot program any new right to seek discovery or issue 

2 subpoenas to communications service providers. 

Æ 


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