Expressing Sense of House With Respect to Third-Party Charges on Consumer Telephone Bills

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, both for yielding and for his kind words. I appreciate that.

I also thank my colleague across the aisle for his support for this resolution.

H. Res. 932 calls for action on unauthorized phone charges slipped onto consumer phone bills. As my colleague pointed out, that is called cramming.

Charges listed on your phone bill don't necessarily come from your phone company. Phone companies allow third parties to place charges on phone bills. Sometimes that can be a convenience. If you are texting a donation, that charge may also be indicated on your phone bill. However, consumers may end up paying charges that they never authorized in the first place, and scammers can cram the bill with small fees that can add up to significant sums over time.

The Federal Communications Commission estimates that the placement of unauthorized charges, known as cramming, has harmed tens of millions of Americans. Most of those phony charges go unnoticed. If you look at your phone bill, they may be listed as something vague like ``monthly fee'' or ``service charge.''

My resolution calls for action to stop this fraud. Consumer watchdogs have already taken some important steps. In 2014 and 2015, the Federal Communications Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and State attorneys general reached settlements with major wireless carriers on cramming. Under those settlements, wireless carriers must disclose and obtain consumer consent for third-party charges on their customers' wireless bills.

While those settlements were an important step, we still have gaps in our consumer protections. The cramming settlement only covers wireless customers, and those protections are time-limited. Landline customers are only protected if their phone company takes action voluntarily.

So consumers really do need strong, ongoing protections against cramming, regardless of which phone company they use and whether they purchase wireless, landline, or bundled phone services. That is why we offer this resolution expressing the sentiment of the House that protections against cramming should be improved and consumers should be empowered to stop unwanted charges.

Again, this resolution is only a first step. I urge every phone company to ensure that their customers understand and consent to any extra charges placed on their phone bills.

In the next Congress, I am hopeful that the Energy and Commerce Committee push for stronger cramming protections through hearings and, when necessary, legislation.

As we take this important first step, I do want to thank my cosponsors on this resolution: Congressman Gene Green, a member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee; Congressman Grijalva; Congressman Honda; and Congresswoman Bustos.

I also thank Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Pallone on the full Committee, and Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Eshoo on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee for working with us to bring this resolution to the floor.

Today I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and I look forward to working with all of you to realize this resolution's goal: No more phony charges.

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