FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMM ISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Robert E. Latta 
U.S. House of Representatives 
2448 Rayburn House Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20515 
Dear Congressman Latta: 
March 16,2016 
Thank you for your letter regarding the application of the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act (TCP A) to telephone town hall technologies. Your views are very important and 
will be included in the record of the Commission' s proceeding 
The TCP A requires, among other things, that a "person" not make autodialed or 
prerecorded non-emergency calls to wireless telephone numbers in the absence of prior express 
consent. A petition for declaratory ruling filed by Broadnet Teleservices LLC asks the 
Commission to clarify whether the TCP A applies to calls made by or on behalf of a federal , 
state, or local governmental entity. Its petition describes how Members of Congress, among 
others, use automated telephone town hall technology to communicate with citizens on a variety 
of issues. Broadnet argues that the term "person" as used in the TCP A does not include 
governmental entities and that the TCP A therefore does not apply to calls made by or on behalf 
of such entities. Two other petitioners, RTI International and the National Employment Network 
Association, have raised similar issues. As you note, the Supreme Court in Campbell-Ewald v. 
Gomez recently addressed the application of the TCP A to the federal government and its 
contractors. 
In response, this week I circulated to my fellow Commissioners a proposed Declaratory 
Ruling on the Broadnet petition that would, if adopted, clarify whether the TCP A applies to calls 
made by federal government officials when they are acting in their official capacities. It would 
also address the work of contractors who are acting as agents of the federal government. The 
draft decision discusses both the meaning of the term "person" in the TCP A and how the 
Supreme Court' s Campbell-Ewald decision applies to the issues raised by the petitioners before 
the Commission. 
My own view is that the Commission should recognize that the Federal Government 
acting in its official capacity is not subject to the TCPA' s restrictions, consistent with the recent 
Supreme Court decision and the statutory language of the TCP A. But a final decision will 
require a vote of the full Commission. 
We recognize how important it is for Members of Congress to connect with their 
constituents, and I assure you that we are acting as quickly as we can. We will, of course, update 
any related public outreach materials once a decision is made on the order. 
Page 2-The Honorable Robert E. Latta 
I appreciate your interest in this matter. Please let me know if I can be of any further 
assistance. 
Tom Wheeler