I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6152 
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a taskforce 
on unlawful robocalls, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 19, 2025 
Mr. MCDOWELL (for himself, Ms. MORRISON, Mr. STEUBE, and Mr. PA-
NETTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to estab-
lish a taskforce on unlawful robocalls, 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 ‘‘Foreign Robocall 
Elimination Act’’. 
SEC. 
2. 
INTERAGENCY 
TASKFORCE 
ON 
UNLAWFUL 
ROBOCALLS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(2) CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘Consortium’’ 
means the consortium described in section 13(d) of 
the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public Law 116– 
105). 
(3) FEDERAL
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 
agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 
in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 
(4) TASKFORCE.—The term ‘‘taskforce’’ means 
the taskforce on unlawful robocalls established under 
subsection (b). 
(5) UNLAWFUL ROBOCALL.—The term ‘‘unlaw-
ful robocall’’ means a telephone call made in viola-
tion of subsection (b) or (e) of section 227 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227). 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 270 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission, after 
consultation with the Federal Trade Commission and the 
Attorney General, shall establish a taskforce on unlawful 
robocalls. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The taskforce shall be com-
posed of the following members: 
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(A)(i) A representative of each Federal 
agency that the Chairman of the Commission, 
in consultation with the Chairman of the Fed-
eral Trade Commission and the Attorney Gen-
eral, considers appropriate. 
(ii) With respect to each Federal agency 
considered under clause (i) to be appropriate, 
the Chairman of the Commission shall appoint 
a representative of that Federal agency to the 
taskforce based on the recommendations of the 
head of that Federal agency. 
(B) Seven representatives of private sector 
entities, to be appointed as described in para-
graph (2)— 
(i) 3 of whom shall be representatives 
from private sector entities with expertise 
in combating unlawful robocalls, includ-
ing— 
(I) voice service providers; 
(II) analytics providers; 
(III) technologists; and 
(IV) technology experts; 
(ii) 1 of whom shall be a representa-
tive from the Consortium; 
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(iii) 1 of whom shall be a representa-
tive of a marketing business that commu-
nicates with consumers by telephone as 
part of the normal course of business of 
that marketing business; 
(iv) 1 of whom shall be a representa-
tive of a business or nonprofit organization 
that communicates with consumers by tele-
phone for non-marketing purposes on a 
regular basis; and 
(v) 1 of whom shall be a representa-
tive of an organization that advocates on 
behalf of customers and who has relevant 
experience and expertise in combating un-
lawful robocalls. 
(2) APPOINTMENT
OF
REPRESENTATIVES
OF 
PRIVATE SECTOR ENTITIES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 
provision of chapter 10 of title 5, United States 
Code, the members of the taskforce described in 
paragraph (1)(B) shall be jointly appointed by 
the Chairman of the Commission, the Chairman 
of the Federal Trade Commission, and the At-
torney General. 
(B) INABILITY TO REACH AGREEMENT.— 
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(D) examine methods for encouraging the 
adoption of caller identification authentication 
technology in foreign countries; 
(E) examine and provide information on 
options for how countries can collaborate on so-
lutions to authenticate and verify international 
calls, including relevant analytics relating to un-
lawful robocalls and technical options that can 
be used with respect to that authentication and 
verification; 
(F) examine how better implementation of 
technical solutions, such as traceback and caller 
identification authentication technology in for-
eign originating countries, would improve co-
ordination between the United States and for-
eign countries in combating unlawful robocalls; 
(G) determine whether— 
(i) the technical standards commonly 
known as ‘‘STIR/SHAKEN’’ adequately 
provide call authentication for unlawful 
robocalls from foreign originating providers 
or foreign intermediate providers through 
gateway providers in the United States; 
and 
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(ii) it would be desirable to encourage 
other countries to adopt the standards de-
scribed in clause (i); 
(H) examine ways to provide incentives to 
foreign countries to cooperate with law enforce-
ment efforts in the United States to combat un-
lawful robocalls; 
(I) examine whether any Federal agency, 
or any other organization, that combats unlaw-
ful robocalls needs additional resources in order 
to more effectively combat unlawful robocalls 
made into the United States from outside the 
United States; 
(J) specifically consider whether the ability 
of the Attorney General to conduct enforcement 
activities with respect to unlawful robocalls 
would be increased through the establishment of 
an office within the Department of Justice dedi-
cated to those enforcement activities; 
(K) examine how increased criminal pen-
alties based on the volume of unlawful robocalls 
could help prevent unlawful robocalls made into 
the United States; 
(L) examine how many enforcement activi-
ties the Attorney General has undertaken in the 
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year preceding the date on which the prepara-
tion of the report begins, including in response 
to referrals made by the Commission; 
(M) specifically determine how the Attor-
ney General has pursued forfeiture amounts in 
enforcement activities with respect to unlawful 
robocalls; 
(N) seek input, as appropriate, from tech-
nologists and private sector innovators to find 
solutions for combating unlawful robocalls; 
(O) identify a list of best practices regard-
ing the identification and blocking of unlawful 
robocalls that telephone service providers and 
providers of technology solutions can voluntarily 
implement to improve the effectiveness of miti-
gating unlawful robocalls made into the United 
States from outside the United States; 
(P) evaluate whether requiring periodic 
public disclosure, in whole or in part, of the re-
sults of trace backs conducted by the Consor-
tium would impact the integrity and effective-
ness of the trace back process of the Consor-
tium, including by— 
(i) revealing investigative methods; 
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(ii) allowing consumers and businesses 
to avoid providers with a track record of 
making unlawful robocalls; 
(iii) exposing proprietary, competi-
tively sensitive, or confidential information 
of legitimate providers or entities; 
(iv) strengthening accountability and 
deterrence; 
(v) enabling the initiators of unlawful 
robocalls to evade detection, adapt tactics, 
or exploit system vulnerabilities; 
(vi) improving the efforts of voice 
service providers to block calls that are de-
termined to be unwanted based on reason-
able analytics; 
(vii) impeding cooperation with future 
law enforcement investigations or future 
consumer protection efforts; or 
(viii) ensuring fairness in the report-
ing of trace back information; and 
(Q) examine mechanisms for improving 
compliance with the requirements imposed pur-
suant to sections 6 and 7 of the Pallone-Thune 
TRACED Act (47 U.S.C. 227b–1, 227 note). 
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(3) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later than 
360 days after the date on which the taskforce is es-
tablished under subsection (b), the taskforce shall 
submit to Congress the report prepared under this 
subsection. 
(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding section 1346 
of title 31, United States Code, funds made available by 
this or any other Act to the Commission, the Federal 
Trade Commission, or the Department of Justice may be 
used by the applicable Federal agency for coordination 
with, participation in, or recommendations involving the 
taskforce, as required under this section. 
(f) TERMINATION.—The taskforce shall terminate on 
the date that is 90 days after the date on which the 
taskforce submits to Congress the report prepared under 
subsection (d), as required under paragraph (3) of that 
subsection. 
SEC. 3. FCC NOTICE PROVISION. 
Section 13(d)(2) of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act 
(Public Law 116–105) is amended by striking ‘‘annually’’ 
and inserting ‘‘once every 3 years’’. 
SEC. 4. ROBOCALL MITIGATION DATABASE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
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(2) ROBOCALL
MITIGATION
DATABASE.—The 
term ‘‘Robocall Mitigation Database’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 64.6300 of title 47, 
Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regu-
lation. 
(3) UNLAWFUL ROBOCALL.—The term ‘‘unlaw-
ful robocall’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 2(a). 
(b) BOND REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue 
rules to require that, subject to the other provisions 
of this section, before a provider may file a certifi-
cation to the Robocall Mitigation Database, the pro-
vider shall post a bond in an amount that is not 
more than $100,000, if the Commission determines 
that posting such a bond is necessary to preserve the 
integrity of the Robocall Mitigation Database. 
(2) EXCEPTED PROVIDERS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In issuing rules under 
paragraph (1), the Commission shall establish 
criteria to exempt a provider from the require-
ment to post a bond described in that para-
graph if that requirement, as applied to the 
provider, is not necessary to deter unlawful 
robocall activity. 
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(B) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
establishing 
criteria under subparagraph (A), the Commis-
sion shall require consideration of whether a 
provider— 
(i) is registered with the Commission 
under section 64.1195 of title 47, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or any successor reg-
ulation) and makes contributions under 
section 254(d) of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)); 
(ii) holds a certificate of authority, li-
cense, or registration with a State public 
utility commission; 
(iii) is an issuer, the securities of 
which are listed on a national securities ex-
change; and 
(iv) otherwise presents indicia of being 
a bona fide, established communications 
service provider, such that requiring the 
provider to post a bond under paragraph 
(1) would impose unnecessary burdens 
without materially improving enforcement 
of section 227 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227). 
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(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing this sec-
tion, the Commission shall— 
(1) require the posting of a bond under sub-
section (b)(1) from providers that do not dem-
onstrate— 
(A) legitimate, ongoing operations; 
(B) regulatory oversight sufficient to en-
sure accountability; or 
(C) the ability to pay fines or forfeitures 
imposed by the Commission or other govern-
mental enforcement authorities with respect to 
violations of Federal or State laws or regula-
tions; 
(2) establish categorical exemptions for identifi-
able classes of legitimate providers that satisfy the 
criteria established under subsection (b)(2); and 
(3) minimize administrative and financial bur-
dens on compliant, established, and regulated pro-
viders while ensuring effective enforcement of section 
227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
227). 
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SEC. 5. REGISTERED CONSORTIUM CONDUCTING PRIVATE- 
LED EFFORTS TO TRACE BACK THE ORIGIN 
OF SUSPECTED UNLAWFUL ROBOCALLS. 
(a) IMMUNITY FOR RECEIVING, SHARING, AND PUB-
LISHING TRACE BACK INFORMATION.—Section 13(d) of 
the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public Law 116–105; 
133 Stat. 3287) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) IMMUNITY FOR RECEIVING, SHARING, AND 
PUBLISHING TRACE BACK INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘covered information’— 
‘‘(i) means information regarding sus-
pected— 
‘‘(I) fraudulent, abusive, or un-
lawful robocalls; 
‘‘(II) illegally spoofed calls; and 
‘‘(III) other illegal calls; and 
‘‘(ii) includes— 
‘‘(I) call detail records of calls 
described in clause (i); 
‘‘(II) the names of, and other 
identifying 
information 
concerning, 
the voice service providers that origi-
nated, carried, routed, and trans-
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mitted calls described in clause (i); 
and 
‘‘(III) information about the enti-
ties that made calls described in 
clause (i), including any contact infor-
mation of individuals that such an en-
tity provided to the voice service pro-
vider that originated the call. 
‘‘(B) TRACE BACK IMMUNITY.—No cause 
of action shall lie or be maintained in any court 
against the registered consortium for receiving, 
sharing, or publishing covered information or 
information derived from covered information.’’. 
(b) PUBLICATION OF LIST OF VOICE SERVICE PRO-
VIDERS.—Section 13(e) of the Pallone-Thune TRACED 
Act (Public Law 116–105; 133 Stat. 3288) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) LIST OF VOICE SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 
‘‘(1) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—The Commission, 
or the registered consortium in consultation with the 
Commission, may publish a list of voice service pro-
viders based on— 
‘‘(A) information obtained by the consor-
tium about voice service providers that refuse to 
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participate in private-led efforts to trace back 
the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls; and 
‘‘(B) other information the Commission or 
the consortium may collect about voice service 
providers that are found to originate or trans-
mit substantial amounts of unlawful robocalls. 
‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Commission may 
take enforcement action based on the information 
described in paragraph (1).’’. 
Æ 
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