Lofgren Bill Would Block Harassing Robocalls
February 4, 2010
Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan Robocall Privacy Act of 2010 with co-sponsors Melissa Bean (D-IL), John Campbell (R-CA), Bob Filner (D-CA), and Grace Napolitano (D-CA). The bill imposes criminal fines on entities that (1) make political robocalls between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. or (2) make more than two political robocalls to the same number in the same day. These sanctions would not apply if a robocall includes the name of its sponsor at the beginning of the call, along with a telephone number for the sponsor of the robocall.
February 4, 2010
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan Robocall Privacy Act of 2010 with co-sponsors Melissa Bean (D-IL), John Campbell (R-CA), Bob Filner (D-CA), and Grace Napolitano (D-CA). The bill imposes criminal fines on entities that (1) make political robocalls between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. or (2) make more than two political robocalls to the same number in the same day. These sanctions would not apply if a robocall includes the name of its sponsor at the beginning of the call, along with a telephone number for the sponsor of the robocall.
“The recent proliferation and misuse of robocalls is a huge annoyance to Americans and also threatens the very political process these calls were intended to further,” noted Rep Zoe Lofgren. “The goal of our bill is to addresses the most egregious offenders without targeting legitimate use. Our bill is not an absolute ban on the use of robocalls, because we understand and respect the importance of political speech and the First Amendment’s protection of that speech.”
“I am proud to join Rep. Lofgren in introducing this bill to protect American families from being harassed by unsolicited, anonymous, and invasive political robocalls,” said Rep. John Campbell (R-CA). “Unfortunately, in past elections, robocalls have been used to harass and overwhelm voters, oftentimes calling their households late at night. Americans deserve accountability and responsibility from their candidates for federal office, which is why I will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to approve this bill.”
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is serving her eighth term in Congress representing most of the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County. She is the Chair of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. She also serves as Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. She Chairs the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections and serves on the House Homeland Security Committee. Congresswoman Lofgren is Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation consisting of 34 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives from California.
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