{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-budd-bipartisan-bill-to-crack-down-on-foreign-robocalls-advances-in-commerce-committee/", "Welch, Budd Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on Foreign Robocalls Advances in Commerce Committee", "2025-10-21", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) today celebrated the advancement of their bipartisan Foreign Robocall Elimination Act, legislation that would bring together government and private sector experts to find additional means of eliminating unlawful robocalls placed into the U.S. from abroad.\n\nThe Senators\u2019 bill is the first piece of legislation related to robocalls to be advanced by the Senate Commerce Committee since 2020.\n\n\u201cVermonters receive nearly 3.5 million robocalls every month. 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 talking to a friend or 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,\u201d said Senator Welch. \u201cI\u2019m thankful for the support of the Commerce Committee on this bipartisan legislation and look forward to bringing this bill to the Senate floor.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery single month, millions of Americans are targeted by billions of scam calls attempting to rob them of their security, privacy, and hard-earned dollars, including many from foreign criminals. This needs to stop. Today, my colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance the common-sense legislation I co-authored with Senator Welch to put an end to nefarious foreign scams deceiving the American people. I hope my Senate colleagues will join us and quickly act to pass the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act into law to help put a stop to this exploitation,\u201d said Senator Budd.\n\nAccording to recent studies, nearly 50 million U.S. adults have reported losing money to an online scam or attack. Additionally, most U.S. adults report receiving scam messages daily or weekly via phone (68%) or text (61%), and 41% of U.S. adults (106 million) say a scam email, text, or call led them to give away personal information.\n\nOnline scams are also a major threat to national security. Last year alone, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documented nearly $16 billion in annual losses from internet crime\u2014a 33% increase from 2023. Accounting for under-reporting, total fraud-related losses to U.S. consumers exceed $158 billion per year.\n\nThe Foreign Robocall Elimination Act builds on landmark legislation like the TRACED Act to would create an interagency task force to evaluate foreign robocalls and how best to combat them, with the goal of increasing international cooperation to reduce illegal robocalls. The task force will consist of key representatives from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice (DOJ) and experts in the field of voice service and analytics, telecommunications technology, marketing organizations, and consumer advocates.\n\nAdditionally, the task force will help ensure that the DOJ is adequately equipped to address and prosecute criminals behind the influx of foreign robocalls. The bill also extends the FCC\u2019s renewal period for the Industry Traceback Group from one year to three years. That change will help the Traceback Group, established in the TRACED Act, continue its successful work of tracing back the source of unlawful robocalls.\n\nThe Foreign Robocall Elimination Act is endorsed by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and USTelecom.\n\n\u201cAARP, which advocates on behalf of more than 100 million Americans age 50 and older, is pleased to endorse the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act. This legislation represents a critical next step in protecting Americans from fraudulent and abusive robocalls originating from outside the United States. Older Americans are disproportionately targeted by robocall scams, which often lead to financial loss, identity theft, and emotional distress. These calls not only exploit individuals but also erode trust in telecommunications systems and public institutions. The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act builds upon the TRACED Act and addresses this growing threat by convening a task force of government and private sector experts to develop actionable strategies for eliminating harmful foreign robocalls,\u201d said Bill Sweeney, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, AARP.\n\n\u201cIllegal robocalls are not just a nuisance\u2014they\u2019re a threat to vulnerable Americans and a tool for scammers around the world. Thanks to strong partnerships between the Industry Traceback Group and federal, state, and local law enforcement, we\u2019ve made measurable progress in stopping these bad actors. The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act builds on this success to empower industry and law enforcement to use what works to crack down on the bad actors overseas preying on Americans. Big thanks to Senators Budd and Welch for their leadership and commitment to consumer protection,\u201d said Josh Bercu, Senior Vice President, Policy at USTelecom \u2013 The Broadband Association and Executive Director, The Industry Traceback Group.\n\nRead and download the full text of the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "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.welch.senate.gov/welch-budd-bipartisan-bill-to-crack-down-on-foreign-robocalls-advances-in-commerce-committee/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9201779030263424, "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"}