SUSAN M. COLLINS, MAINE 
CHAIRMAN 
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SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGIN G 
WAS HI NGTON, DC 20510- 6400 
(202) 224- 5364 
June 17, 2015 
The Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street, N.W. 
Washington, D.C. 20554 
Dear Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission: 
CLAIRE McCASKILL, M ISSOURI 
RANKING MEMBER 
We write to express our strong support for the portion of the proposed declaratory ruling 
announced by Chairman Wheeler on May 27,2015, that would clarify that common carriers can 
offer robocall blocking technology without violating the Commission's call completion rules. 
We urge the full Commission to adopt this portion of the proposed declaratory ruling. 
The Senate Special Committee on Aging has long been concerned about the cascade of 
robocalls that disrupt, annoy, and harass all Americans, but appear to disproportionately affect 
our seniors. The Federal Trade Commission currently receives approximately 150,000 robocall 
complaints a month (and these numbers are almost certainly substantially underreported). This is 
a situation that cannot continue. Whether these calls are an unwanted sales pitch or the 
beginning of a scam, they must be stopped. 
The Committee held a hearing on June 10, 2015, titled Ringing Off the Hook: Examining 
the Proliferation of Unwanted Calls. During this hearing Professor Henning Schulzrinne, a 
former FCC Chief Technology Officer and current FCC consultant, explained how advances in 
technology have made it easy for unscrupulous actors to place a virtually limitless number of 
robocalls cheaply. Prof. Schulzrinne also explained how new technology makes it simple for 
robocallers to disguise or "spoof' a caller ID. As Prof. Schulzrinne explained, however, it is 
possible to fight technology with technology, and the technology exists now for carriers to offer 
robocall filters that have been proven to be effective in combatting robocalls. 
As we understand it, the primary impediment to carriers deploying robocall filters today 
is a concern that these filters violate call completion requirements. We believe that concern is 
misplaced. Indeed, we have recently introduced the "Robocall and Call Spoofing Enforcement 
Improvements Act of2015," (S . 1540) which expresses the Sense of Congress that 
telecommunications carriers have the legal authority to offer consumers services that block or 
filter robocalls. We are extremely pleased that Chairman Wheeler ' s proposal is consistent with 
our view of the law, and urge its adoption. 
Web Site: http://aging.senate.gov 
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Susan M. Collins 
Chairman Ranking Member 
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