sion or the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau under other 
law— 
(1) to refer a matter to the Attorney General; or 
(2) to pursue or continue pursuit of an enforce-
ment action in a matter with respect to which the 
Chief of the Enforcement Bureau provided the evi-
dence described in subsection (a) to the Attorney Gen-
eral. 
(d) ROBOCALL VIOLATION DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘robocall violation’’ means a violation of sub-
section (b) or (e) of section 227 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227). 
SEC. 10. PROTECTION FROM ONE-RING SCAMS. 
(a) INITIATION OF PROCEEDING.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion shall initiate a proceeding to protect called parties 
from one-ring scams. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED.—As part of the 
proceeding required by subsection (a), the Commission shall 
consider how the Commission can— 
(1) work with Federal and State law enforce-
ment agencies to address one-ring scams; 
(2) work with the governments of foreign coun-
tries to address one-ring scams; 
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(3) in consultation with the Federal Trade Com-
mission, better educate consumers about how to avoid 
one-ring scams; 
(4) incentivize voice service providers to stop 
calls made to perpetrate one-ring scams from being 
received by called parties, including consideration of 
adding identified one-ring scam type numbers to the 
Commission’s existing list of permissible categories for 
carrier-initiated blocking; 
(5) work with entities that provide call-blocking 
services to address one-ring scams; and 
(6) establish obligations on international gate-
way providers that are the first point of entry for 
these calls into the United States, including potential 
requirements that such providers verify with the for-
eign originator the nature or purpose of calls before 
initiating service. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall publish on its website and submit to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate a report on the status of the proceeding 
required by subsection (a). 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) ONE-RING SCAM.—The term ‘‘one-ring scam’’ 
means a scam in which a caller makes a call and al-
lows the call to ring the called party for a short dura-
tion, in order to prompt the called party to return the 
call, thereby subjecting the called party to charges. 
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 3 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 
(3) VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘voice service’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 227(e)(8) 
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
227(e)(8)). This paragraph shall apply before the ef-
fective date of the amendment made to such section by 
subparagraph (C) of section 503(a)(2) of division P 
of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public 
Law 115–141) as if such amendment was already in 
effect. 
SEC. 11. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in consulta-
tion with the Commission, shall convene an interagency 
working group to study the enforcement of section 227(b) 
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)). 
(b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the study under sub-
section (a), the interagency working group shall— 
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(1) determine whether, and if so how, any Fed-
eral law, including regulations, policies, and prac-
tices, or budgetary or jurisdictional constraints in-
hibit the enforcement of such section; 
(2) identify existing and potential Federal poli-
cies and programs that encourage and improve co-
ordination among Federal departments and agencies 
and States, and between States, in the enforcement 
and prevention of the violation of such section; 
(3) identify existing and potential international 
policies and programs that encourage and improve 
coordination between countries in the enforcement 
and prevention of the violation of such section (and 
laws of foreign countries prohibiting similar conduct); 
and 
(4) consider— 
(A) the benefit and potential sources of ad-
ditional resources for the Federal enforcement 
and prevention of the violation of such section; 
(B) whether memoranda of understanding 
regarding the enforcement and prevention of the 
violation of such section should be established be-
tween— 
(i) the States; 
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(ii) the States and the Federal Govern-
ment; and 
(iii) the Federal Government and for-
eign governments; 
(C) whether a process should be established 
to allow States to request Federal subpoenas 
from the Commission with respect to the enforce-
ment of such section; 
(D) whether increased criminal penalties for 
the violation of such section (including increas-
ing the amount of fines and increasing the max-
imum term of imprisonment that may be im-
posed to a period greater than 2 years) are ap-
propriate; 
(E) whether regulation of any entity that 
enters into a business arrangement with a car-
rier for the specific purpose of carrying, routing, 
or transmitting a call that constitutes a viola-
tion of such section would assist in the successful 
enforcement and prevention of the violation of 
such section; and 
(F) the extent to which the prosecution of 
certain violations of such section (which result in 
economic, physical, or emotional harm) pursuant 
to any Department of Justice policy may inhibit 
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or otherwise interfere with the prosecution of 
other violations of such section. 
(c) MEMBERS.—The interagency working group shall 
be composed of such representatives of Federal departments 
and agencies as the Attorney General considers appropriate, 
which may include— 
(1) the Department of Commerce (including the 
National Telecommunications and Information Ad-
ministration); 
(2) the Department of State; 
(3) the Department of Homeland Security; 
(4) the Commission; 
(5) the Federal Trade Commission; and 
(6) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec-
tion. 
(d) NON-FEDERAL STAKEHOLDERS.—In carrying out 
the study under subsection (a), the interagency working 
group shall consult with such non-Federal stakeholders as 
the Attorney General determines have relevant expertise, in-
cluding the National Association of Attorneys General. 
(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 9 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the interagency 
working group shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation and the Committee on the Ju-
diciary of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
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Commerce and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
of Representatives a report on the findings of the study 
under subsection (a), including— 
(1) any recommendations regarding the enforce-
ment and prevention of the violation of such section; 
and 
(2) a description of what process, if any, rel-
evant Federal departments and agencies have made in 
implementing the recommendations under paragraph 
(1). 
SEC. 12. COMMISSION DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 
Communications Commission. 
SEC. 13. ANNUAL ROBOCALL REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Commission shall make publicly available on the website 
of the Commission, and submit to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation of the 
Senate, a report on the status of private-led efforts to trace 
back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls by the reg-
istered consortium and the participation of voice service 
providers in such efforts. 
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(b) CONTENTS
OF REPORT.—The report required 
under subsection (a) shall include, at minimum, the fol-
lowing: 
(1) A description of private-led efforts to trace 
back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls by the 
registered consortium and the actions taken by the 
registered consortium to coordinate with the Commis-
sion. 
(2) A list of voice service providers identified by 
the registered consortium that participated in pri-
vate-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected 
unlawful robocalls through the registered consortium. 
(3) A list of each voice service provider that re-
ceived a request from the registered consortium to 
participate in private-led efforts to trace back the ori-
gin of suspected unlawful robocalls and refused to 
participate, as identified by the registered consortium. 
(4) The reason, if any, each voice service pro-
vider identified by the registered consortium provided 
for not participating in private-led efforts to trace 
back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls. 
(5) A description of how the Commission may 
use the information provided to the Commission by 
voice service providers or the registered consortium 
that have participated in private-led efforts to trace 
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back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls in the 
enforcement efforts by the Commission. 
(c) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Not later than 210 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu-
ally thereafter, the Commission shall issue a notice to the 
public seeking additional information from voice service 
providers and the registered consortium of private-led ef-
forts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls 
necessary for the report by the Commission required under 
subsection (a). 
(d) REGISTRATION OF CONSORTIUM OF PRIVATE-LED 
EFFORTS TO TRACE BACK THE ORIGIN OF SUSPECTED UN-
LAWFUL ROBOCALLS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall issue rules to establish a registration process for 
the registration of a single consortium that conducts 
private-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected 
unlawful robocalls. The consortium shall meet the fol-
lowing requirements: 
(A) Be a neutral third-party competent to 
manage the private-led effort to trace back the 
origin of suspected unlawful robocalls in the 
judgement of the Commission. 
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(B) Maintain a set of written best practices 
about the management of such efforts and re-
garding providers of voice services’ participation 
in private-led efforts to trace back the origin of 
suspected unlawful robocalls. 
(C) Consistent with section 222(d)(2) of the 
Communications 
Act 
of 
1934 
(47 
U.S.C. 
222(d)(2)), any private-led efforts to trace back 
the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls con-
ducted by the third-party focus on ‘‘fraudulent, 
abusive, or unlawful’’ traffic. 
(D) File a notice with the Commission that 
the consortium intends to conduct private-led ef-
forts to trace back in advance of such registra-
tion. 
(2) ANNUAL NOTICE BY THE COMMISSION SEEK-
ING REGISTRATIONS.—Not later than 120 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter, the Commission shall issue a notice to the 
public seeking the registration described in paragraph 
(1). 
(e) LIST OF VOICE SERVICE PROVIDERS.—The Com-
mission may publish a list of voice service providers and 
take appropriate enforcement action based on information 
obtained from the consortium about voice service providers 
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that refuse to participate in private-led efforts to trace back 
the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls, and other infor-
mation the Commission may collect about service providers 
that are found to originate or transmit substantial amounts 
of illegal calls. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) PRIVATE-LED EFFORT TO TRACE BACK.—The 
term ‘‘private-led effort to trace back’’ means an effort 
made by the registered consortium of voice service 
providers to establish a methodology for determining 
the origin of a suspected unlawful robocall. 
(2) REGISTERED CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘reg-
istered consortium’’ means the consortium registered 
under subsection (d). 
(3) SUSPECTED
UNLAWFUL
ROBOCALL.—The 
term ‘‘suspected unlawful robocall’’ means a call that 
the Commission or a voice service provider reasonably 
believes was made in violation of subsection (b) or (e) 
of section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 227). 
(4) VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘voice service’’— 
(A) means any service that is inter-
connected with the public switched telephone net-
work and that furnishes voice communications to 
an end user using resources from the North 
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American Numbering Plan or any successor to 
the North American Numbering Plan adopted by 
the Commission under section 251(e)(1) of the 
Communications 
Act 
of 
1934 
(47 
U.S.C. 
251(e)(1)); and 
(B) includes— 
(i) transmissions from a telephone fac-
simile machine, computer, or other device to 
a telephone facsimile machine; and 
(ii) without limitation, any service 
that enables real-time, two-way voice com-
munications, including any service that re-
quires internet protocol-compatible customer 
premises equipment (commonly known as 
‘‘CPE’’) and permits out-bound calling, 
whether or not the service is one-way or 
two-way voice over internet protocol. 
SEC. 14. HOSPITAL ROBOCALL PROTECTION GROUP. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 
establish an advisory committee to be known as the ‘‘Hos-
pital Robocall Protection Group’’. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Group shall be composed only 
of the following members: 
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(1) An equal number of representatives from 
each of the following: 
(A) Voice service providers that serve hos-
pitals. 
(B) Companies that focus on mitigating un-
lawful robocalls. 
(C) Consumer advocacy organizations. 
(D) Providers of one-way voice over internet 
protocol 
services 
described 
in 
subsection 
(e)(4)(B)(ii). 
(E) Hospitals. 
(F) State government officials focused on 
combatting unlawful robocalls. 
(2) One representative of the Commission. 
(3) One representative of the Federal Trade 
Commission. 
(c) ISSUANCE OF BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 
180 days after the date on which the Group is established 
under subsection (a), the Group shall issue best practices 
regarding the following: 
(1) How voice service providers can better com-
bat unlawful robocalls made to hospitals. 
(2) How hospitals can better protect themselves 
from such calls, including by using unlawful robocall 
mitigation techniques. 
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(3) How the Federal Government and State gov-
ernments can help combat such calls. 
(d) PROCEEDING BY FCC.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date on which the best practices are issued by the 
Group under subsection (c), the Commission shall conclude 
a proceeding to assess the extent to which the voluntary 
adoption of such best practices can be facilitated to protect 
hospitals and other institutions. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) GROUP.—The term ‘‘Group’’ means the Hos-
pital Robocall Protection Group established under 
subsection (a). 
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 3 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 
(3) VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘voice service’’— 
(A) means any service that is inter-
connected with the public switched telephone net-
work and that furnishes voice communications to 
an end user using resources from the North 
American Numbering Plan or any successor to 
the North American Numbering Plan adopted by 
the Commission under section 251(e)(1) of the 
Communications 
Act 
of 
1934 
(47 
U.S.C. 
251(e)(1)); and 
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(B) includes— 
(i) transmissions from a telephone fac-
simile machine, computer, or other device to 
a telephone facsimile machine; and 
(ii) without limitation, any service 
that enables real-time, two-way voice com-
munications, including any service that re-
quires internet protocol-compatible customer 
premises equipment (commonly known as 
‘‘CPE’’) and permits out-bound calling, 
whether or not the service is one-way or 
two-way voice over internet protocol. 
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Union Calendar No. 133 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 3375 
[Report No. 116–173] 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clar-
ify the prohibitions on making robocalls, and for 
other purposes. 
JULY 23, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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