S. 1025 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Mar 13, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryGives FCC power to collect unpaid telemarketing fines
Right now, the Department of Justice handles fines when companies break the law by making illegal telemarketing calls—the kind that use robots to dial you or play prerecorded messages without your permission. This bill lets the FCC step in and collect those unpaid fines if the Justice Department doesn't pursue them within a certain timeframe. The FCC would focus especially on collecting the biggest unpaid fines, those over $25 million.
How it affects you
This mainly affects the telemarketing companies that owe money for breaking the rules—they could face collection efforts from a different agency. For you as a regular person, this could mean those illegal robocalls might be discouraged more effectively if the FCC can pressure companies to pay their fines, though the summary doesn't spell out direct changes to how you experience telemarketing.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Mar 13, 2025)
FCC Legal Enforcement Act
This bill authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to pursue certain unpaid fines related to unauthorized telemarketing calls.
Under current law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits certain telemarketing calls made without the recipient’s consent and using automatic dialing technology or artificial or prerecorded voice messages. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has authority to pursue unpaid fines for TCPA violations.
Under the bill, if DOJ does not pursue an unpaid fine related to a TCPA violation within a specified period, the FCC may do so. The bill directs the FCC to prioritize the collection of unpaid fines over $25 million.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1025
A BILL
FCC Legal Enforcement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) · Introduced Mar 13, 2025 · Science, Technology, Communications · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 13, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.”