Cramer: Rural Call Quality Act Establishes Standards for Telephone Reliability

Press Release

A bill that establishes standards to improve the quality of rural telephone calls was one of four bills Congressman Kevin Cramer co-sponsored that passed the House of Representative today. Cramer is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where these bills originated.

H.R. 2566, The Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2016, requires third-party intermediate providers who offer the capability of transmitting covered voice communication to register with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Third-party intermediate providers work by carrying long distance phone calls in rural areas between providers such as Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint.

The bill also requires the FCC to issue rules establishing service quality standards for those providers, in an attempt to increase phone service reliability in rural areas.

"Third-party providers are not currently required to register with the FCC or meet phone call quality standards," said Cramer. "This bill requires that they do both."

He said this legislation helps correct the disadvantages faced by rural Americans who struggle with poor quality telephone service. "Rural Americans need reliable and consistent telephone service for their businesses and homes."

Cramer is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and this bill was one of several Cramer supported passed by the full House of Representatives today. The others bills he co-sponsored are:

H.R. 2669, The Anti-Spoofing Act of 2016. This bill requires the FCC to levy penalties and criminal fines against spoofing crimes, where individuals use fake information about a caller's identification to defraud or harm another through text message or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

H.R. 1192, The National Clinical Care Commission Act. This bill establishes a clinical care commission to evaluate and recommend solutions regarding better coordinating of Federal programs related to complex metabolic or autoimmune disorders, diabetes, or complications caused by any such disease.

H.R. 4365, The Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016. This bill clarifies that the Controlled Substances Act to ensure that paramedics and other emergency medical services (EMS) professionals are able to continue to administer controlled substances, such as pain narcotics and anti-seizure medications, under standing orders issued by a EMS medical director physician.

Other bills Cramer supported also originating in the Energy and Commerce Committee and passed by the House of Representatives today are:

H.R. 1209, The Improving Access to Maternity Care Act. This bill requires the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to designate maternity care health professional shortage areas, in an attempt to better place maternity health care professionals in areas with the greatest need for their services.

H.R. 2713, The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2016. This bill reauthorizes the Nursing Workforce Development Programs, which address various aspects of nursing workforce demand, including education, practice, recruitment, and retention.

H.R. 985, The Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2015. This bill enables concrete masonry products manufacturers to establish, finance, and carry out a "check-off" program for concrete masonry products.

H.R. 4665, The Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act of 2016. This bill directs the Bureau of Economic Analysis to assess and analyze the outdoor recreation economy of the United States and the effects attributable to it on the overall economy.

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