I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7392 
To deter criminal robocall violations and improve enforcement of section 
227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 21, 2018 
Mr. BABIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To deter criminal robocall violations and improve enforce-
ment of section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 
1934, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Telephone Robocall 
Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act’’ or the 
‘‘TRACED Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FORFEITURE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 227 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) CIVIL FORFEITURE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person that is de-
termined by the Commission, in accordance 
with section 503(b)(3) or section 503(b)(4), to 
have violated this subsection with the intent to 
cause such violation shall be liable to the 
United States for a forfeiture penalty. A for-
feiture penalty under this paragraph shall be in 
addition to any other penalty provided for by 
this Act. The amount of the forfeiture penalty 
determined under this paragraph shall not ex-
ceed $10,000 for each violation. 
‘‘(B) RECOVERY.—Any forfeiture penalty 
determined under subparagraph (A) shall be re-
coverable under section 504(a). 
‘‘(C) PROCEDURE.—No forfeiture liability 
shall be determined under subparagraph (A) 
against any person unless such person receives 
the notice required by section 503(b)(3) or sec-
tion 503(b)(4). 
‘‘(D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—No for-
feiture penalty shall be determined or imposed 
against any person under subparagraph (A) if 
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the violation charged occurred more than 3 
years prior to the date of issuance of the re-
quired notice or notice or apparent liability. 
‘‘(E) FORFEITURE UNDER SECTION 503.— 
Notwithstanding section 503(b)(1), nothing in 
this paragraph may be construed to affect the 
authority of the Commission to impose a for-
feiture penalty under section 503(b)(1)(B) 
against a person who is determined by the 
Commission, in accordance with that section, to 
have failed to comply with any provision of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(5) CRIMINAL FINE.—Any person who violates 
this subsection with the intent to cause such viola-
tion shall upon conviction thereof be fined not more 
than $10,000 for each violation, or 3 times that 
amount for each day of a continuing violation, in 
lieu of the fine provided by section 501 of this title 
for such a violation. This subparagraph does not 
supercede the provisions of section 501 of this title 
relating to imprisonment or the imposition of a pen-
alty of both fine and imprisonment.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (h)— 
(A) by striking paragraph (2); 
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(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(3) 
through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (6), re-
spectively; 
(C) in paragraph (3), as redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (2)’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘paragraph (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (4)’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 
section shall not affect any action or proceeding com-
menced before and pending on the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
(c) DEADLINE
FOR REGULATIONS.—The Federal 
Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations 
to implement the amendments made by this section not 
later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. CALL AUTHENTICATION. 
(a) AUTHENTICATION FRAMEWORK.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Federal Communications Commission shall re-
quire, not later than 18 months after the date of en-
actment of this Act, a provider of voice service to 
implement an appropriate and effective call authen-
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tication framework in the internet protocol networks 
of voice service providers. 
(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Federal Commu-
nications Commission— 
(A) shall not take the action described in 
subsection (a)(1) if the Federal Communica-
tions Commission determines, after public no-
tice and an opportunity for comment, that each 
provider of voice services, not later than 12 
months after the date of enactment of this 
Act— 
(i) has established voluntary rules for 
an appropriate and effective call authen-
tication framework in the internet protocol 
networks of voice service providers; 
(ii) has agreed voluntarily to partici-
pate in the authentication framework 
under clause (i); 
(iii) has begun to implement the au-
thentication framework under clause (i); 
and 
(iv) will fully implement the appro-
priate and effective call authentication 
framework under clause (i), not later than 
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18 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, subject to subparagraph (B); and 
(B) may extend the deadline for implemen-
tation of the call authentication framework 
under paragraph (1) or subparagraph (A) of 
this paragraph, as applicable, for an additional 
12 months, or such further time as the Federal 
Communications Commission determines to be 
necessary, for a provider that demonstrates 
substantial hardship in purchasing or upgrad-
ing equipment to support call authentication. 
(b) SAFE HARBOR AND OTHER REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Federal Communica-
tions Commission shall promulgate rules— 
(A) affirming authority for a provider of 
voice service to block a voice call pursuant to 
the authentication framework under paragraph 
(1) or paragraph (2) of subsection (a), as appli-
cable; 
(B) establishing a safe harbor for a pro-
vider of voice service from liability for unin-
tended or inadvertent blocking of calls or for 
the unintended or inadvertent misidentification 
of the level of trust for individual calls pursuant 
to the authentication framework under para-
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graph (1) or paragraph (2) of subsection (a), as 
applicable; and 
(C) establishing a process to permit a call-
ing party adversely affected by the authentica-
tion framework under paragraph (1) or para-
graph (2) of subsection (a), as applicable, to 
verify the authenticity of the calling party’s 
calls. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing the safe 
harbor under paragraph (1), the Federal Commu-
nications Commission shall consider limiting the li-
ability of providers based on the extent to which 
they— 
(A) block or identify calls based on the au-
thentication framework under paragraph (1) or 
paragraph (2) of subsection (a), as applicable; 
(B) implemented procedures based on the 
framework; and 
(C) used reasonable care. 
(c) DEFINITION OF VOICE SERVICE.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘voice service’’— 
(1) means any service that is interconnected 
with the public switched telephone network and that 
furnishes voice communications to an end user using 
resources from the North American Numbering Plan 
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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 
(2) includes— 
(A) transmissions from a telephone fac-
simile machine, computer, or other device to a 
telephone facsimile machine; and 
(B) without limitation, any service that en-
ables real-time, two-way voice communications, 
including any service that requires Internet pro-
tocol-compatible customer premises equipment 
(CPE) and permits out-bound calling, whether 
or not the service is one-way or two-way voice 
over Internet protocol. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall preclude the Federal Communications Commis-
sion from initiating a rulemaking pursuant to its existing 
statutory authority. 
SEC. 4. PROTECTIONS FROM SPOOFED CALLS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and consistent with the au-
thentication framework under paragraph (1) or paragraph 
(2) of section 3(a), as applicable, the Federal Communica-
tions Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to help pro-
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tect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or text 
messages from a caller using an unauthenticated number. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In promulgating rules under 
subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission 
shall consider— 
(1) the Government Accountability Office report 
on combating the fraudulent provision of misleading 
or inaccurate caller identification required by section 
503(c) of division P of the Consolidated Appropria-
tions Act 2018 (Public Law 115–141; 132 Stat. 
348); 
(2) the best means of ensuring that a sub-
scriber or provider has the ability to block calls from 
a caller using an unauthenticated number; 
(3) the impact on the privacy of a telephone 
subscriber from unauthenticated calls; 
(4) the effectiveness in verifying the accuracy of 
caller identification information; and 
(5) the availability and cost of providing protec-
tion from the unwanted calls or text messages de-
scribed in subsection (a). 
SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General of the 
United States, in consultation with the Chairman of the 
Federal Communications Commission, shall convene an 
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interagency working group to study Government prosecu-
tion of violations 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— 
(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 prosecution of such violations; 
(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 prevention 
and prosecution of such violations; 
(3) identify existing and potential international 
policies and programs that encourage and improve 
coordination between nations in the prevention and 
prosecution of such violations; and 
(4) consider— 
(A) the benefit and potential sources of ad-
ditional resources for the Federal prevention 
and prosecution of criminal violations of that 
section; 
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(B) whether to establish memoranda of un-
derstanding regarding the prevention and pros-
ecution of such violations between— 
(i) the States; 
(ii) the States and the Federal Gov-
ernment; and 
(iii) the Federal Government and a 
foreign government; 
(C) whether to establish a process to allow 
States to request Federal subpoenas from the 
Federal Communications Commission; 
(D) whether extending civil enforcement to 
the States would assist in the successful preven-
tion and prosecution of such violations; 
(E) whether increased forfeiture and im-
prisonment penalties are appropriate, such as 
extending imprisonment for such a violation to 
a term longer than 2 years; 
(F) whether regulation of any entity that 
enters into a business arrangement with a car-
rier for the specific purpose of carrying, rout-
ing, or transmitting a call that constitutes such 
a violation would assist in the successful pre-
vention and prosecution of such violations; and 
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(G) the extent to which, if any, Depart-
ment of Justice policies to pursue the prosecu-
tion of violations causing economic harm, phys-
ical danger, or erosion of an inhabitant’s peace 
of mind and sense of security inhibits the pre-
vention or prosecution of such violations. 
(c) MEMBERS.—The interagency working group shall 
be composed of such representatives of Federal depart-
ments and agencies as the Attorney General considers ap-
propriate, such as— 
(1) the Department of Commerce; 
(2) the Department of State; 
(3) the Department of Homeland Security; 
(4) the Federal Communications Commission; 
(5) the Federal Trade Commission; and 
(6) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 
(d) NON-FEDERAL STAKEHOLDERS.—In carrying 
out the study under subsection (a), the interagency work-
ing group shall consult with such non-Federal stake-
holders as the Attorney General determines have the rel-
evant expertise, including the National Association of At-
torneys General. 
(e) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later than 9 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the inter-
agency working group shall submit to the Committee on 
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Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 
of Representatives a report on the findings of the study 
under subsection (a), including— 
(1) any recommendations regarding the preven-
tion and prosecution of such violations; and 
(2) a description of what process, if any, rel-
evant Federal departments and agencies have made 
in implementing the recommendations under para-
graph (1). 
SEC. 6. ACCESS TO NUMBER RESOURCES. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
commence a proceeding to determine whether Federal 
Communications Commission policies regarding access to 
number resources could be modified, including by estab-
lishing registration and compliance obligations, to help re-
duce access to numbers by potential perpetrators of viola-
tions of section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1935 
(47 U.S.C. 227(b)). 
Æ 
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