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The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 121h St. SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
June 8, 2016 
The Budget Act of2015 included a provision that could open the door to unwanted robocalls and 
texts to the mobile phones of student loan borrowers, mortgage holders, veterans, farmers, 
taxpayers, and others with debt owed to or backed by the federal government. While we 
opposed inclusion of that provision (Section 301) in the budget deal, the legislation provided the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the authority to limit some of the potential 
harm that could result from this unfortunate provision. That is why many of us previously wrote 
to you last year, urging the Commission to use its regulatory authority to put in place several 
important consumer protections. 
We commend you for proposing to adopt a number of important consumer safeguards in the 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) the Commission approved earlier this year. We strongly 
encourage you implement all of them in your final rules: 
1. Apply the rules to both calls and texts and limit the amount of calls and texts to no more 
than three per month, counting each initiated call as one call. 
2. Notify consumers of their right to request that calls stop and require that all callers cease 
calls as soon as any called party requests that the calls stop. 
3. Permit just one call to a reassigned number, consistent with the FCC's 2015 Omnibus 
Order. 
4. Restrict the calls and texts to those made just to debtors - not their family or friends - and 
for the purpose of collecting on delinquent or defaulted debt. 
5. Prohibit calls by debt buyers and others who are not collecting debts actually owed to or 
guaranteed by the federal government. 
The NPRM also asked additional questions about what the FCC should include in its final rules. 
We believe the FCC should: 
1. Apply the time of call provisions in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (8 a.m. to 9 
p.m.) to these calls and texts. 
2. Require that a caller have a documented rationale to support the basis for the 
determination that the particular phone number being called belongs to the person who 
owes the debt. 
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 
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The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
June 8, 2016 
Page 2 of4 
3. Include all consumer protection provisions in the text of the actual rule, rather than just in 
the text accompanying the rule, making it easier for individual consumers to know their 
rights. 
We appreciate your recognition of the important role the Commission has in protecting the 
convenience and privacy that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) has provided for 
more than two decades. These protections should continue for years to come. Calls from debt 
collectors, even for debts owed to or guaranteed by the federal government, should be closely 
limited to further the goals of the TCP A. 
Sincerely, 
~~-~ Edward J. Marke)i ~ 
United States Senator Member of Congress 
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Richard Blumenthal 
United States Senator 
Al Franken 
United States Senator 
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Jeffrey A. Merkley 
United States Senator 
United States Senator 
Member of Congress 
Eleanor Holmes Norton 
Member of Congress 
Frank Pallone Jr. 
Member of Congress 
Paul D. Tonko 
Member of Congress 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
June 8, 2016 
Page 3 of 4 
Patrick Leahy 
United States Senator 
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United States Senator 
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Unit d States Senator 
United States Senator 
United States Senator 
Member of Congress 
Doris Matsui 
Member of Congress 
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The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
June 8, 2016 
Page 4 of4 
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Earl Blumenauer 
Member of Congress 
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Michael M. Honda 
Member of Congress 
Wilham R. Keating 
Member of Congress 
Charles B. Rangel 
Member of Congress 
Sam Farr 
Member of Congress