Title: HANGUP Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls Act of 2019 or the HANGUP Act
This bill prohibits a debt collector from robocalling or texting without consent an individual for purposes of collecting a debt owed to or guaranteed by the federal government.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 626 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 626

To repeal debt collection amendments made by the Bipartisan Budget Act 
                    of 2015, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 28, 2019

  Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Lee) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To repeal debt collection amendments made by the Bipartisan Budget Act 
                    of 2015, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Help Americans Never Get Unwanted 
Phone calls Act of 2019'' or the ``HANGUP Act''.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF DEBT COLLECTION AMENDMENTS; CLARIFYING COVERAGE WITH 
              RESPECT TO GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS.

    (a) In General.--The Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 3 (47 U.S.C. 153), by striking paragraph 
        (39) and inserting the following:
            ``(39) Person.--The term `person'--
                    ``(A) includes an individual, partnership, 
                association, joint-stock company, trust, or 
                corporation; and
                    ``(B) for the purposes of section 227, includes--
                            ``(i) a contractor of--
                                    ``(I) the United States Government; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) any State or local 
                                government; and
                            ``(ii) an entity of any legal form.''; and
            (2) in section 227(b) (47 U.S.C. 227(b))--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking 
                        ``, unless such call is made solely to collect 
                        a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United 
                        States''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``, 
                        is made solely pursuant to the collection of a 
                        debt owed to or guaranteed by the United 
                        States,''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by adding 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (G)(ii), by striking 
                        ``; and'' at the end and inserting a period; 
                        and
                            (iii) by striking subparagraph (H).
    (b) Regulations.--Section 301(b) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 
2015 (47 U.S.C. 227 note) is repealed.
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