WASHINGTON– The House has voted to pass the credit union-backed Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, which aims combat unwanted robocalls via the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Both CU trade groups praised the passage, but both also expressed concerns around several areas of the legislation.
The TRACED Act seeks to eliminate robocalls while also recognizing the need to provide recourse to those legitimate callers whose calls may be erroneously blocked as a result.
“We applaud Congress for their bipartisan effort to pass legislation that addresses illegal robocalls and seeks to improve enforcement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, while recognizing the need to provide recourse to those legitimate callers whose calls may be erroneously blocked as a result,” said CUNA’s chief advocacy officer, Ryan Donovan. “CUNA and our members continue to believe that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act cannot be properly enforced or followed without the FCC providing clarity on the definition of an autodialer. Conflicting interpretations of the term are particularly problematic for the thousands of credit unions who depend on efficient calling technologies to provide members with critical information regarding their accounts, including mandatory servicing calls and fraud alerts.
“CUNA will continue to advocate for clarification of the definition of an autodialer through judicial, legislative, and regulatory efforts,” Donovan continued. “Until this issue is resolved, there will be an ever-present threat of hampering credit unions’ ability to communicate with their members, which is a responsibility that they have as financial service providers.”
NAFCU Response
Meanwhile, NAFCU VP-Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler issued a statement saying, “NAFCU stands behind Congress’s efforts to eliminate illegal robocalls, however, we remain concerned that more needs to be done to ensure beneficial, time-sensitive communications by legitimate callers such as credit unions are protected.
“In the event of potential fraud, a data breach or other important updates to existing accounts, credit unions proactively work to alert their members of any questionable activity,” Thaler continued. “Public policy should clearly distinguish between legitimate communications and illegal robocalls and provide avenues for credit unions to share important information with their members. We thank Congress for their efforts and encourage policymakers to protect consumers’ access to the information they need.”