{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=F27C5B7F-CE7B-4945-928E-5205A285BC22", "VIDEO: Fischer Calls for Additional Enforcement to Protect Consumers Against Illegal Robocalls", "2023-10-26", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", "fischer", "https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "\u201cWe Must Be Able to Empower Consumers with the Knowledge of Who Is Actually Calling Them and the Ability to Block Illegal Callers\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, delivered remarks at a hearing this week highlighting the urgent need to improve enforcement and protect consumers from illegal and spoofed robocalls. In her remarks, Senator Fischer discussed the damaging impact of unlawful scam calls and texts that can lead to devastating financial losses and personal identity theft.\n\nIn 2019, Senator Fischer cosponsored the TRACED Act to advance solutions that would reduce illegal robocalls. Senator Fischer also introduced the Spoofing Prevention Act in 2016 to close existing legal loopholes allowing fraudulent caller ID information to be conveyed through texts, certain IP-enabled voice services, and calls originating outside the United States. Both bills are now law.\n\nClick the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer\u2019s remarks\n\nClick here to download audio\n\nClick here to download video\n\nFollowing is a transcript of Senator Fischer\u2019s opening remarks:\n\nGood morning,\n\nThank you, Chairman Luj\u00e1n, for holding this hearing. The persistent issue of illegal robocalls has been a long-standing concern of mine. Nationwide illegal and spoofed robocalls continue to be the number one consumer complaint. I want to ensure that we have the right tools in place to protect consumers from these calls that prey on them. As we all know, our phones give us a connection to the world around us. Whether it's calling family, friends, or colleagues, scheduling appointments, or summoning emergency services, they are integrated into our daily lives.\n\nOur phone numbers are a very personal part of our identities as well. We use them to verify who we are, and we hold on to them for decades \u2014 sometimes for a lifetime. But, as we know too well, this allows scammers to reach directly into our homes and into our pockets. Bad actors are increasingly savvy in the technologies they use to defraud consumers. This can result in devastating financial losses.\n\nCriminals are engaging in more targeted calls and impersonating businesses like banks to steal personal data or commit financial fraud. Phone scams are still yielding the highest reported fraud losses per person, despite the rapid growth of scammers on social media platforms. In fact, fraud losses due to phone scams are higher than ever. According to a recent report, over 68 million Americans lost approximately $40 billion to phone scams in 2021 alone.\n\nIn many ways, it feels like we have had this conversation so many times over so many years. But crucially, in 2019, Congress passed the TRACED Act to put wide-ranging solutions in motion that would reduce illegal robocalls. I commend my colleague, Senator Thune, for leading this legislation and I was glad to be a cosponsor of it.\n\nPreviously, I also led the Spoofing Prevention Act with Senator Bill Nelson, which passed into law in 2018. This law was a foundational effort to increase penalties and boost enforcement tools that fight illegal spoofing. Deterrence through fines for illegal robocall activities is a key part of cracking down on nuisance calls that endanger consumers. On this front, federal agencies \u2013 particularly the Justice Department \u2013 must improve how they work together to ensure that unpaid fines are collected.\n\nThere are no silver bullets to eradicate the scourge of illegal scam calls and texts. Lawmakers have to remain vigilant and monitor how illegal robocall schemes are evolving. We must be able to empower consumers with the knowledge of who is actually calling them and the ability to block illegal callers. We all share the goal of being able to pick up our phone safely, trusting that we know who's going to be on the other end of the line. But we are not there just yet. The industry has made commendable efforts to reduce the prevalence of these illegal calls, including through advancements in call authorization and traceback technology.\n\nNew statistics from the federally designated Traceback Consortium \u2013 ITG \u2013 indicate that certain common robocall scams have started to decline over the last couple of years. Continuing this trend will take the united cooperation of all voice service providers. As lawmakers, we need to maintain this momentum and ensure that traceback efforts are fully supported.\n\nI urge the FCC to spend its time and resources to prevent genuine criminal activity and create meaningful safe harbors for businesses acting in good faith compliance with the law. I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses about where we are in this effort and where additional assistance may be needed. Thank you for being here. And thank you, Chairman Luj\u00e1n.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:43:12Z"]], "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.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=F27C5B7F-CE7B-4945-928E-5205A285BC22"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5150019899010658, "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"}