It’s been a big few weeks for Rep. Eliot Engel’s phone bills (I leave it to you to decide whether the pun was intended) (hint: it was).
Engel’s Calling Card Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 3993) passed unanimously through a subcommittee two weeks ago, and his Truth in Caller ID Act (H.R. 1258) could hit the House floor this week. Engel has been trying for years to pass legislation that would regulate how certain kinds of phone-based business is conducted.
The Calling Card Bill
The calling card bill would crack down on misleading and overpriced calling cards by requiring “accurate and reasonable disclosure of the terms.” It’s an issue that bears extra importance in urban areas and other places with large Hispanic populations. According to the non-profit Hispanic Institute, calling card scams “disproportionately harm Hispanics, particularly new arrivals to the United States and those without well-developed English skills. Prepaid phone cards have surfaced as a cost-effective option for new immigrants to stay in touch with family members abroad.”
The Bronx, which is represent in-part by Engel, is over 50% Hispanic.
On a personal note — one of my very first reporting assignments was on an earlier Calling Card Consumer Protection Act that Engel authored. That bill passed the house in 2008, but failed to make it to the President’s desk before that session of Congress expired. Unfortunately, the current incarnation of that bill risks suffering the same fate. The current session of Congress expires in seven months.
The Caller ID Bill
Engel’s Caller ID Bill has a much better chance of making it to President Obama. The bill has already passed the Senate (by way of Senate sponsor Bill Nelson) and only needs the House’s OK.
The Hill’s Tony Romm summed up the bill’s situation:
Engel’s legislation would prohibit companies from faking their caller ID data in an attempt to deceive consumers — a process known as “spoofing.”
The congressman’s legislation also cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee earlier last month with both Democratic and GOP support, after months of wrangling over concerns that the bill’s anti-spoofing rules could hamper federal investigators who hide their caller ID data to throw off possible suspects.
Spectrum inventory, caller ID bills head to House floor next week