<!Congress of tbt ietnittb ~tates Da~bington. };9'6: 20515 482 June 15, 2018 The Honorable Ajit Pai, Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Pai, We write in response to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) recent Public Notice seeking comment on the interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) following the decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down portions of a 2015 FCC rulemaking. 1 As you proceed with the Public Notice, we urge you to fulfill Congress's intent to protect the public from unwanted robocalls and robotexts from government contractors. First, we request you swiftly adopt consumer protection regulations that restrict robocalls and robotexts from federal debt collectors. In 2015, Congress directed the FCC to allow callers collecting federal debt to robocall and robotext without consent the mobile phones of student loan borrowers, mortgage borrowers, veterans, farmers, taxpayers, and anyone else with debt backed by the federal government. These changes to the TCPA also require the FCC to issue implementing regulations and allow the FCC to restrict or limit the number and duration of robocalls and robotexts. In August of 2016, the FCC issued implementing regulations and appropriately used its authority to adopt many important consumer safeguards, including: " Limiting the amount of calls and texts to no more than three per month, counting each initiated call as one call; " Notifying consumers of their right to request that calls stop and requiring that all callers cease the calls once any called party requests that the calls stop; and " Restricting the calls and texts to those made just to borrowers - not their family or friends - and only for the purpose of collecting on delinquent or defaulted debt owed to the federal government. Regrettably, the FCC withdrew these protections prior to their approval by the Office of Management and Budget. Further, according to a petition submitted to the FCC, some debt collectors are already making robocalls and robotexts without consumers' consent. As a result, it 1 ACA Int 'l, et al. v. FCC, 885 F.3d 687 (D.C. Cir. 2018) 1 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER appears that many borrowers and their relatives may be receiving multiple robocalls a day without providing consent or having the ability to stop invasive communications. We believe that borrowers should be protected by the robust protections established by the FCC in 2016. We urge you to fully implement these rules and take appropriate actions against any caller violating these key protections. Second, we urge you to fully rescind the Broadnet et al. Declaratory Ruling without delay. In 2016, the FCC adopted the Broadnet et al. Declaratory Ruling, which determined that federal contractors are not "persons" under the TCPA, formally exempting them from complying with the TCPA's core consumer protections. We strongly oppose this conclusion in the Broadnet et al. Declaratory Ruling and believe that it was Congress's intent for the TCPA's protections to extend to goverrunent contractors. Congress demonstrated this intent by passing Section 301 of the 2015 Budget Act, which exempted federal debt collectors from the TCPA. While we oppose this carve out, its adoption is clear evidence that Congress believed that the TCPA already applied to government contractors. Therefore, we must ensure that government contractors are subject to meaningful rules that prohibit them from violating the consumer protections established by the TCPA by rescinding the Broadnet et al. Declaratory Ruling. The FCC has an important role in protecting the convenience and precious zone of privacy created by the TCPA. We strongly encourage you to use your authority to stop these abusive and invasive robocalls. Sincerely, ~United States Senator% · ~ CZ:United States~"- Senator Anna . Eshoo Member of Congress Member of Congress 2