#HARTFORD, CT – On Monday, December 16 at 10:30 AM in the atrium of the Hartford Public Library, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will urge the U.S. Senate to pass the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act before the holiday recess to prevent and prosecute robocallers who defraud consumers.

Blumenthal has led and cosponsored measures to fight robocalls including the TRACED Act. Passed in the U.S. House last week, it increases penalties for robocallers, prevents carriers from adding charges for blocking, promotes call authentication and blocking adoption, as well as brings relevant federal agencies and state attorneys general together to coordination prosecution of robocallers. Blumenthal has also introduced the Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones (ROBOCOP) Act which would require phone companies to provide consumers with free robocall-blocking technology, and that companies verify that caller IDs are accurate. The final version of the TRACED Act that passed the House incorporates provisions of the ROBOCOP that protect consumers’ from being billed for call blocking.

Blumenthal will be joined by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, Federal Communication Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and others to discuss ongoing efforts at the state and federal level to protect consumers from robocalls.

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