Tennessee U.S. Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) recently joined his colleague, North Carolina U.S. Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), to reintroduce the Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone Calls (DO NOT Call) Act in the House of Representatives.
The measure also earned the support of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who released a statement applauding the bill.
“Everybody hates robocalls,” Skrmetti said. “While there are certain limited situations where they make sense, by and large they are a way of letting someone waste our time without wasting their time. I appreciate the efforts of Congressman Kustoff to stop this relentless annoyance and look forward to using the tools he is providing to protect Tennesseans from obnoxious interruptions.”
NEWS: I introduced the DO NOT Call Act today with @RepDeborahRoss in the House of Representatives.
We can all agree that harassing robocalls are more than just a nuisance. That’s why I introduced this legislation to help deter them.
Read more here: https://t.co/cw04FhM0UA
— Rep. David Kustoff (@RepDavidKustoff) February 2, 2023
The bipartisan bill, H.R.800, would “help deter robocalls by creating stricter penalties for companies and individuals who engage in the intentional harassment of consumers,” according to a press release by Kustoff’s office.
Specifically, the legislation, if enacted, would allow prison terms for up to one year for willfully and knowingly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991; allow prison terms for up to three years for excessive or repeated violations of the law; and double the maximum penalties currently under TCPA for falsifying caller identification from $10,000 to $20,000.
Citing data that reported Americans receiving more than 50 billion robocalls and losing an estimated $40 billion to telephone scams and fraud schemes in 2022, Kustoff believes his bill would provide Americans “much needed relief from harassing robocalls and scams.”
“West Tennesseans, and all Americans, can agree that robocalls are a nuisance that take away from our everyday lives,” Kustoff said in a statement. “I introduced the DO NOT Call Act with Congresswoman Ross to give our judicial system more authority to protect Americans from receiving these calls, and from being scammed and defrauded as a result.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Jonathan Skrmetti” by Tennessee Attorney General. Photo “David Kustoff” by Congressman David Kustoff. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Kübra tokur.
