Content supplied by the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute
This Week:
Mark-Ups:
On Tuesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will mark up several bills, including S. 2680, the Opioid Crisis Response Act.
On Thursday, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel will mark up its portion of H.R. 5515, the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
Mark-Ups:
Family Support— On April 18, the House Committee on Agriculture passed, 26-20, H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act. The bill contains provisions to authorize several nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Assistance for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Child Nutrition Program.
H.R. 2 Agriculture and Nutrition Act. The bill contains provisions to authorize several nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Assistance for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Child Nutrition Program.
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Hearings:
Child Protection — On April 18, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security held a hearing, “Olympic Abuse: The Role of National Governing Bodies in Protecting our Athletes.”
Veterans — On April 17, the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on several bills, including H.R. 4334, the Improving Oversight of Women Veterans’ Care Act, and H.R. 4635, a bill to increase peer-to-peer counseling for women veterans.
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April 18, 2018
Thune Leads Commerce Committee Hearing Examining the Problem of Abusive Robocalls
“We’re here to address an issue that I’m sure we can all agree on: unwanted, abusive, and illegal robocalls have got to stop.”
US Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, held a hearing entitled, “Abusive Robocalls and How We Can Stop Them.” The hearing examined the problem of malicious spoofing and abusive robocalls designed to defraud consumers, as well as measures being taken by government and industry professionals to protect consumers.
“We’re here to address an issue that I’m sure we can all agree on: unwanted, abusive, and illegal robocalls have got to stop,” said Thune. “Unsolicited robocalls consistently rank among the top consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. Beyond just being annoying, many of those who send out unwanted robocalls do so with the intent to defraud consumers. As more phone systems move from copper wires to the internet, it has become easier and cheaper for bad actors to make illegal robocalls from anywhere in the world. These new technologies have also made it easier for scammers to hide from law enforcement and seek to gain their victims’ trust by displaying fake caller ID information.”
During the hearing, Thune questioned Adrian Abramovich, who testified under subpoena and faces $120 million in FCC penalties for allegedly making nearly 100 million robocalls nationwide.
“Mr. Abramovich, your participation at today’s hearing is important,” said Thune. “According to the FCC, you allegedly made nearly 100 million robocalls to American consumers purporting to be a well-known travel or hospitality company such as TripAdvisor, Expedia, Marriott, or Hilton … Mr. Abramovich, I expect that today you will shed some light on your past conduct and provide the Committee with your unique perspective on the technologies and practices behind abusive robocalls.”
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