By Patrick Mcardle
[email protected]
Rep. Peter Welch said he hoped a new law designed to “crack down on unwanted and predatory robocalls” would bring relief to Vermonters.
The legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump on Monday will provide tools that are needed by both the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, and residents to slow or block robocalls.
Asked about the new law, which came from the House Energy and Commerce Committee where Welch is a senior member, the congressman said, “We hate it, don’t we? It’s awful.”
“We’ve gotten more mail about it and calls than just about any other issue,” he said. “It drives people wild.”
In a statement, Stephanie Grisham, White House press secretary, said the law will “provide American consumers with even greater protection against annoying unsolicited robocalls.”
“American families deserve control over their communications, and this legislation will update our laws and regulations to stiffen penalties, increase transparency, and enhance government collaboration to stop unwanted solicitation,” she said.
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan said he thought the new law was “great news.”
“Vermonters are just fed up with these calls. We do a lot of work raising awareness about scams, but robocalls are on the rise because they work and they’re ripping off Vermonters so I applaud Congress for acting. Hopefully this will stem the tide of these calls,” he said.
Welch said some of the aspects of the law that give it “teeth” include giving the FCC authority it didn’t have to to track down those responsible for setting up illegal robocalls.
“It gives some power to consumers, allowing consumers to revoke prior consent. It also requires the carriers, which I find very significant, to offer this call-authentication technology to consumers and small businesses, and that includes in rural and urban America, at no additional charge,” he said.
Welch said the latter piece would help the consumers getting calls that appear to be from a local number even if the caller is in a different country.
“A lot of time, you’ll be getting a robocall, but it’ll have an 802 area code so you kinda give it the benefit of the doubt that it’s local, but it may be originating in Taiwan or Korea somewhere,” Welch said.
Other aspects of the law require optional robocall blocking be offered by carriers at no charge and direct the FCC to stop “one-ring” scams that are attempts to get the consumer to call back a number that may appear local but may actually be in a foreign country where expensive connection or per-minute fees may be applied.
“The consumer shouldn’t be the one who has to go and buy technology to stop calls they don’t want. That’s really in the domain and responsibility of the carrier,” he said.
Donovan said states could always act in concert with the federal government to protect consumers but he acknowledged Vermont may still need to do more.
“These types of scams are only going to continue to change given technology and given how people communicate. We have to make sure that our laws are keeping pace with technology so I always reserve the right to say, ‘We need more and the state of Vermont needs more’ because at the end of the day, we’re trying to protect Vermont consumers. That’s our job. But I think this is a good first step,” Donovan said.
Welch and Donovan took part in a press conference in May in Burlington discussing their plans to take action against robocalls.
Welch said he hoped the new law would protect older residents who might pick up a call, even one they suspect of being a robocall, because they’re concerned it might be one of their children or grandchildren.
“They just don’t want that anxiety of not answering the phone if it’s a call where they’re really needed. With the proliferation of robocalls, too often, all it is is a junk call. But that peace of mind is taken away from folks when they’re subject to these constant robocalls,” he said.
Welch said one of the reasons he likes to meet constituents across the state is to learn about day-to-day challenges like the “deluge of robocalls.” He noted that a problem like the automated phone calls that disrupt the lives of so many and often cost residents time and money, is the kind of issue that can see bipartisan support.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.
