House Dem offers bill to crack down on debt collector robocalls

A House Democrat has introduced a bill to crack down on robocalls from debt collectors seeking to collect on federal loans.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) unveiled her Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls (HANGUP) Act on Friday, the same day that the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on cracking down on robocalls.

“No one should be subjected to harassing or unwanted robocalls, whether they come from a government contractor or anywhere else,” Eshoo said in a statement.

{mosads}The bill would close a loophole exempting debt collectors from a 1991 law restricting telemarketing calls and robocalls. A provision in the 2015 Budget Act granted the exception to debt collectors.

“Congress took action to crack down on these unwanted calls through the 1991 [Telephone Consumer Protection Act], but the provision in the Budget Act of 2015 rolled back important consumer protections in the 27 year old law,” Eshoo said in her statement Friday.

“The HANGUP Act restores these critical protections for consumers by establishing a statutory roadblock to unwanted robocalls and texts from government contractors.”