Title: Protecting Patients and Doctors from Unlawful Robocalls Act of 2019
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Protecting Patients and Doctors from Unlawful Robocalls Act of 2019
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Hospital Robocall Protection Group to develop best practices for combating unlawful robocalls made to hospitals and to devise strategies for hospitals to protect themselves from such calls.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3780 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3780

    To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish an 
 advisory committee to develop best practices regarding how to combat 
  unlawful robocalls made to hospitals and how hospitals can protect 
          themselves from such calls, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2019

  Mrs. Dingell (for herself and Mr. Burgess) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish an 
 advisory committee to develop best practices regarding how to combat 
  unlawful robocalls made to hospitals and how hospitals can protect 
          themselves from such calls, 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 ``Protecting Patients and Doctors from 
Unlawful Robocalls Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. 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 ``Hospital Robocall Protection Group''.
    (b) Membership.--The Group shall be composed only of the following 
members:
            (1) An equal number of representatives from each of the 
        following:
                    (A) Voice service providers that serve hospitals.
                    (B) Companies that focus on mitigating unlawful 
                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 combat unlawful 
        robocalls made to hospitals.
            (2) How hospitals can better protect themselves from such 
        calls, including by using unlawful robocall mitigation 
        techniques.
            (3) How the Federal Government and State governments 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) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (2) Group.--The term ``Group'' means the Hospital Robocall 
        Protection Group established under subsection (a).
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        153).
            (4) Voice service.--The term ``voice service''--
                    (A) 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 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 
                        facsimile machine, computer, or other device to 
                        a telephone facsimile machine; and
                            (ii) without limitation, any service that 
                        enables real-time, two-way voice 
                        communications, including any service that 
                        requires 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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