,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #abci  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #cj1    
#bjai,mr4 ,merkley introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation
  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,federal   
,communications ,commission to establish
 within the ,enforcement ,bureau of the 
,commission a division that specifically
 addresses the issue of robocalls1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,regulatory ,oversight ,barring         
,obnoxious ,calls and ,texts ,act of    
#bjai or the ,,robo ,calls and ,texts   
,act4  #b4 ,robocall ,division in ,,fcc 
,enforcement ,bureau  7a7 ,establishment
 ,not later than #a year after the date 
of the enactment of this ,act1 the      
,commission shall establish within the  
,enforcement ,bureau of the ,commission 
a division1 to be known as the ,robocall
 ,division1 that specifically addresses 

the issue of robocalls4  7b7            
,responsibilities ,the ,division shall  
have the following responsibilities3    
7#a7 ,ensure consumer protection and    
compliance with ,federal laws relating  
to public safety and robocalls4  7#b7   
,serve as a line of communication       
between the ,federal ,government and the
 communications industry to coordinate  
efforts to combat robocalls on both     
sides4  7#c7 ,actively manage consumer  
complaints regarding robocalls and      
address those complaints in a timely    
manner4  7#d7 ,serve as a line of       
communication between the ,commission   
and other related ,federal agencies1    
including the ,federal ,bureau of       
,investigation1 the ,consumer ,financial
 ,protection ,bureau1 the ,federal      
,trade ,commission1 the ,department of  
,justice1 and the ,treasury ,inspector  
,general for ,tax ,administration1      
regarding the issue of robocalls4  7#e7 
,any other responsibility that the      
,commission determines-- 7,a7 is        

necessary to prevent robocalls2 and     
7,b7 does not unnecessarily-- 7i7 block 
benign calls or text messages2 or  7ii7 
complicate the user experience4  #c4    
,other ,,fcc responsibilities relating  
to robocalls  7a7 ,technological        
standards  7#a7 ,in general ,not later  
than #ij days after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission 
shall promulgate regulations under      
section #bbg of the ,communications ,act
 of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bbg7 that     
compel telecommunications providers to  
adopt technological standards to prevent
 robocalls4  7#b7 ,updates ,the         
,commission shall periodically update   
the regulations promulgated under       
paragraph 7#a7 as the ,commission       
considers appropriate4  7b7 ,research   
,the ,commission shall dedicate a       
portion of the staff of the ,commission 
to conducting research that-- 7#a7      
advances technology to prevent          
robocalls2  7#b7 investigates technology
 that facilitates the origination of    

robocalls2 and  7#c7 otherwise assists  
the ,division in carrying out its       
responsibilities under section #b7;b74  
7c7 ,educational resources and materials
 ,the ,commission shall develop1 and    
provide to the general public1          
educational resources and materials that
 inform users of a voice service or text
 messaging service of the risks         
associated with robocalls4  #d4         
,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7        
,commission ,the term ,commission means 
the ,federal ,communications            
,commission4  7#b7 ,division ,the term  
,division means the ,robocall ,division 
established under section #b7;a74  7#c7 
,robocall ,the term robocall means a    
call made 7including a text message     
sent7--  7,a7 using equipment that makes
 a series of calls to stored telephone  
numbers1 including numbers stored on a  
list1 or to telephone numbers produced  
using a random or sequential number     
generator1 except for a call made using 
only equipment that the caller          

demonstrates requires substantial       
additional human intervention to dial or
 place a call after a human initiates   
the series of calls2 or  7,b7 using an  
artificial or prerecorded voice4