• Home
• TVClips
• RadioClips
• ReClip

News Center

Press Releases

Print this page

Souder Works to End Political "Robo Calls" in the United States

Souder-Cosponsored Bill Would Help Bring Federal Law in Line With Indiana's Do-Not-Call Law

U.S. Rep. Mark Souder announced today that he is cosponsoring H.R. 248, the Robo Calls Off Phones (Robo C.O.P.) Act. The legislation would prohibit calls with politically-oriented recorded messages to telephone numbers of Americans who choose not to receive them. These calls are known as automated or robotic calls.

"This past election season, we saw throughout the United States greater and greater use of pre-recorded political calls, known as ‘robo calls,’" Souder said. "I am opposed to this type of campaign tactic—I believe that ‘robo calls’ are invasive and need to be stopped. While such calls are already illegal in the State of Indiana, I am working to bring federal law in line with our own state’s law."

Current federal law—i.e., the Do-Not-Call statute—exempts political organizations (along with certain non-profit organizations such as charities) so the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cannot ban calls featuring politically-oriented recorded messages at this time. The Souder-cosponsored bill (H.R. 248) would direct the FTC to revise the regulations regarding the Do-Not-Call registry so that it would be illegal to call Americans with politically-oriented recorded messages if they have chosen not to receive them.

Politically-oriented robotic calls are not permitted under Indiana’s Do-Not-Call law, but such calls are allowed if they feature a live caller (i.e., if they are not pre-recorded). The bill in Congress cosponsored by Souder would help bring in line the federal law with Indiana’s state law.

H.R. 248 has been referred for further consideration to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

###