CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is urging the U.S. Senate to take quick action and give final approval to the TRACED Act, which is legislation designed to curb unlawful robocalls.
Morrisey supported an earlier version of the legislation in March as part of a bipartisan coalition of state and territory attorneys general. They contend its passage would enable states, federal regulators and telecom providers to take steps to combat the unlawful calls.
“A significant reduction in these annoying robocalls will require a concerted effort from telecom providers and all levels of government,” Morrisey said. “I applaud the House and urge the Senate to take swift action in hopes this crucial legislation will be a major step forward in our collective effort to protect consumers and hold bad actors accountable.”
Morrisey
The Senate initially passed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act in May. An amended version passed the House on Dec. 4 with near unanimous, bipartisan support and now returns to the Senate for final passage.
Morrisey initiated discussions earlier this year with several phone companies to gain commitment to speed the deployment of scam blocking technology. A short time later, he joined attorneys general from every state in reaching a bipartisan, public-private agreement that resulted in 12 phone companies adopting eight principles to fight illegal robocalls. The pact will protect consumers and make it easier for attorneys general and law enforcement to investigate and prosecute bad actors.
More than 48 billion robocalls were made in 2018, making the calls the number one source of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission and resulting in millions in consumer losses.
