{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.budd.senate.gov/2026/08/04/budd-welch-bill-to-crack-down-on-foreign-robocall-scammers/", "Budd, Welch Bill to Crack Down on Foreign Robocall Scammers Targeting Americans Passes the Senate with Unanimous Support", "2026-08-04", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "NC", "Ted Budd", "B001305", "www.budd.senate.gov", "budd", "https://www.budd.senate.gov/category/news/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.), member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statements after their Foreign Robocall Elimination Act passed the Senate floor with unanimous support. The bill brings together government and private sector experts to eliminate unlawful robocalls originating abroad and prevent them from entering the U.S. to target Americans. The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act is now headed to the House of Representatives for consideration.\n\n\u201cToo many American households have been targeted by foreign scam calls that threaten to steal identities and defraud innocent victims. We cannot allow these criminals to continue preying on Americans without consequence. I am proud this timely legislation passed the Senate with unanimous support, and I urge my House colleagues to swiftly pass it so we can strengthen international cooperation to crack down on foreign robocall scammers,\u201d said Senator Budd.\n\n\u201cVermonters have received 27 million robocalls so far in 2026. And it\u2019s not only our state\u2014folks in red and blue states alike are sick and tired of picking up the phone and wondering if they\u2019re being scammed. As foreign robocallers step up their efforts to exploit and prey on vulnerable people, we need to do more to combat this unlawful practice and protect Americans from scams. I\u2019m proud to work with Senator Budd on this bipartisan legislation and am grateful for the Senate\u2019s support. I urge the House to join us in sending it to the president\u2019s desk,\u201d said Senator Welch.\n\n\u201cIllegal robocalls and other abuses of our phone networks are not just a nuisance \u2013 they are tools scammers around the world use to target Americans here at home. Thanks to strong partnerships between the Industry Traceback Group and federal, state, and local law enforcement, we\u2019ve made measurable progress in combatting these bad actors, but there is much more work to be done. The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act builds on this success to empower industry and law enforcement to use what works to advance the fight against the bad actors overseas preying on Americans. Thanks to Senators Budd and Welch for their leadership in advancing this legislation that will help protect consumers \u2013 we urge the House to quickly pass the bill and send it to the President\u2019s desk,\u201d said Josh Bercu, Senior Vice President, Policy at USTelecom and Executive Director of the Industry Traceback Group.\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nLast year, Senators Budd and Welch first introduced the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act to establish an interagency task force comprising key representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and Department of Justice, as well as experts in voice service and analytics, telecommunications technology, marketing organizations, and consumer advocacy.\n\nThis task force will evaluate foreign robocalls and determine the most effective strategies to combat them, with the goal of enhancing international cooperation to reduce illegal robocalls. The task force will also help ensure that the Department of Justice is adequately equipped to address and prosecute criminals behind the influx of foreign robocalls.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-05T07:37:37Z", "2026-08-05T07:38:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.budd.senate.gov/2026/08/04/budd-welch-bill-to-crack-down-on-foreign-robocall-scammers/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.868532806634903, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}