[Pages H990-H992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

IMPROVING RURAL CALL QUALITY AND RELIABILITY ACT OF 2017

Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(S. 96) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure the integrity
of voice communications and to prevent unjust or unreasonable
discrimination among areas of the United States in the delivery of such
communications.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

S. 96

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Rural Call Quality
and Reliability Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF VOICE COMMUNICATIONS.

Part II of title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:

``SEC. 262. ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF VOICE COMMUNICATIONS.

``(a) Registration and Compliance by Intermediate
Providers.--An intermediate provider that offers or holds
itself out as offering the capability to transmit covered
voice communications from one destination to another and that
charges any rate to any other entity (including an affiliated
entity) for the transmission shall--
``(1) register with the Commission; and
``(2) comply with the service quality standards for such
transmission to be established by the Commission under
subsection (c)(1)(B).
``(b) Required Use of Registered Intermediate Providers.--A
covered provider may not use an intermediate provider to
transmit covered voice communications unless such
intermediate provider is registered under subsection (a)(1).
``(c) Commission Rules.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Registry.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Commission shall promulgate
rules to establish a registry to record registrations under
subsection (a)(1).
``(B) Service quality standards.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission
shall promulgate rules to establish service quality standards
for the transmission of covered voice communications by
intermediate providers.
``(2) Requirements.--In promulgating the rules required by
paragraph (1), the Commission shall--
``(A) ensure the integrity of the transmission of covered
voice communications to all customers in the United States;
and
``(B) prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among
areas of the United States in the delivery of covered voice
communications.

[[Page H991]]

``(d) Public Availability of Registry.--The Commission
shall make the registry established under subsection
(c)(1)(A) publicly available on the website of the
Commission.
``(e) Scope of Application.--The requirements of this
section shall apply regardless of the format by which any
communication or service is provided, the protocol or format
by which the transmission of such communication or service is
achieved, or the regulatory classification of such
communication or service.
``(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to affect the regulatory classification of any
communication or service.
``(g) Effect on Other Laws.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to preempt or expand the authority of a State
public utility commission or other relevant State agency to
collect data, or investigate and enforce State law and
regulations, regarding the completion of intrastate voice
communications, regardless of the format by which any
communication or service is provided, the protocol or format
by which the transmission of such communication or service is
achieved, or the regulatory classification of such
communication or service.
``(h) Exception.--The requirement under subsection (a)(2)
to comply with the service quality standards established
under subsection (c)(1)(B) shall not apply to a covered
provider that--
``(1) on or before the date that is 1 year after the date
of enactment of this section, has certified as a Safe Harbor
provider under section 64.2107(a) of title 47, Code of
Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation; and
``(2) continues to meet the requirements under such section
64.2107(a).
``(i) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered provider.--The term `covered provider' has
the meaning given the term in section 64.2101 of title 47,
Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto.
``(2) Covered voice communication.--The term `covered voice
communication' means a voice communication (including any
related signaling information) that is generated--
``(A) from the placement of a call from a connection using
a North American Numbering Plan resource or a call placed to
a connection using such a numbering resource; and
``(B) through any service provided by a covered provider.
``(3) Intermediate provider.--The term `intermediate
provider' means any entity that--
``(A) enters into a business arrangement with a covered
provider or other intermediate provider for the specific
purpose of carrying, routing, or transmitting voice traffic
that is generated from the placement of a call placed--
``(i) from an end user connection using a North American
Numbering Plan resource; or
``(ii) to an end user connection using such a numbering
resource; and
``(B) does not itself, either directly or in conjunction
with an affiliate, serve as a covered provider in the context
of originating or terminating a given call.''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Lance) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Michael F.
Doyle) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.

General Leave

Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are considering S. 96 to improve
rural call completion. S. 96 will require the Federal Communications
Commission to establish call completion standards for intermediary
providers that sometimes have not routed calls properly in rural areas
of our country.
By focusing on these standards, we will ensure that the high-quality
telephone service people in big cities may take for granted will be
shared by those Americans living in harder-to-reach areas.
I appreciate the bipartisan work of Congressman David Young and
Congressman Peter Welch. Their companion bill, H.R. 460, passed the
House on January 23, 2017.
I also thank Senator Klobuchar and Senator Thune for their work on
rural call completion.
Without the bipartisan and bicameral work of all of these Members, we
would not be here today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself
such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to support S. 96, the Improving Rural Call
Quality and Reliability Act. It is a bipartisan bill championed by
Representative David Young and cosponsored by a number of other
Members, including Representatives Welch and Loebsack from the Energy
and Commerce Committee.
We deal with a lot of technologically complicated issues on the
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, but this bill aims to
address the most essential function of our telephone system: making
sure that all Americans' calls go through.
Many people take for granted our modern communications tools. But in
rural America, even the basic function of connecting a call is
sometimes next to impossible.
Consumers tell us often when they call rural areas, they are met with
false busy signals or calls not even arriving, just silence.
This isn't just an important problem for rural Americans, but also
for people in all of our districts who want to reach loved ones across
the country and can't.
This status quo is unacceptable. We need reliable telephone service
to keep us connected. It is too important for everyday life,
particularly in the wake of the terrible natural disasters that swept
through our country earlier this year.
It is clearer than ever that basic phone service is critical when
responding to emergencies and critical for everything from finding a
job to managing your health.
We know that problems with call completion are often related to
intermediate providers--the middlemen hired to route calls. This bill
requires intermediate providers to register with the FCC and comply
with service quality standards. These commonsense steps should make it
easier to figure out when providers are cutting corners or not doing
their jobs.
Ultimately, the bill puts consumers first by helping them make sure
that we can stay connected to one another.
S. 96 is a bipartisan bill that passed on suspension earlier this
Congress and last Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support it
today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the distinguished chair of the
Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce
Committee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the vice chairman, Mr. Lance,
for the work that he has done on this issue and the ranking member, Mr.
Doyle, for his work on this.
As Mr. Doyle mentioned, many of these issues are complex, and they
are things that we do approach on a bipartisan basis.
The bill that we have before us on rural call completion is something
that Mr. Young and Mr. Welch have put time and effort into. They fully
understand that while so many of us who work here in an area where a
call going through is something that you just take for granted that it
is going to happen, that in many parts of our districts, like my
district in Tennessee with rural counties, many times you will have
those dropped calls or they are degraded calls, or you cannot get the
call to go through at all.
In times of emergency and in times of trauma for families, when they
are trying desperately to get in touch with elderly parents or with
home healthcare providers, to get that constant busy signal just adds
to that stress of life and that concern for the wellbeing of those who
are on the other end of that phone.
Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Welch and Mr. Young for the job that they
have done to push forward with this legislation.
As was mentioned earlier, we have previously passed this in the
House, and we are pleased that the Senate has moved forward, has taken
this up; and we are seeking to finish this up and move it to the
President's desk.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, and I encourage everyone to
support this legislation.
Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa
(Mr. Young), who has worked so hard on this issue.

[[Page H992]]

Mr. YOUNG of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the
Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act.
This is a bill that I introduced in a bipartisan fashion with my
colleagues here on both sides of the aisle in the 114th Congress, and
we passed it in 2016. Here in the 115th Congress, we passed it again,
but we didn't quite get it to the finish line. But here we are.
I want to thank my Democratic colleague from Vermont (Mr. Welch) for
joining me in introducing the legislation. It is much needed.
I want to thank Senator Klobuchar and Senator Thune for finally
getting the Senate to act on this important legislation. This is the
Senate bill. To me, it doesn't matter whose name or what number is on
this bill. It is about good policy getting through to the finish line.
Telephone companies often rely on intermediate providers to connect
calls from larger networks to local service providers. All too often,
especially in rural areas, those calls are poor quality, looped,
dropped, not even connected, or disconnected.
This failure hurts our families, small businesses, farms, and
consumers in rural America who are in need of emergency assistance,
public services, or are simply trying to do business.
Families and businesses in rural America should have the same
communication access as those living in urban areas. Improving rural
call completion rates and quality are important to ensuring the
strength of small towns and granting Americans the choice to live and
thrive in whatever community is best for them and their family--rural,
urban, or wherever.
Our bill will help address this problem by requiring providers to
register with the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, in order
to meet quality standards and ensure reliable phone service in rural
areas. It also prohibits providers from using intermediary routing
services not registered with the FCC.
After years of hard work in Congress and by stakeholders spread
throughout Iowa, across the heartland, and across the country, I am
happy to see this meaningful legislation finally moving again, and I
urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman Walden; Ranking Member Pallone; and the subcommittee chair and
ranking member, Mrs. Blackburn and Mr. Doyle, for their help and
leadership on this issue.
Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
South Dakota (Mrs. Noem).
Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Improving Rural
Call Quality and Reliability Act.
Most Americans can rely on their phone service to keep in touch with
loved ones. They can respond to urgent work when away from their place
of business and respond to emergencies. But many of my constituents in
South Dakota continue to have these critical calls dropped with
absolutely no warning.
More specifically, companies in the business of routing voice calls
sometimes purposely drop long-distance calls headed for remote areas as
a way to save money.
While this is inexcusable just for the sheer inconvenience, some of
these calls involve emergencies, leaving families in unnecessarily
dangerous situations.
The provisions within this bill are simple. We simply direct the FCC
to establish basic quality standards for providers that transmit voice
calls. This will help ensure businesses, families, and emergency
responders can count on phone calls being completed.
Mr. Speaker, I love living in a small town in America. It is where I
grew up, and it is where I have chosen to raise my family.
Dependable phone service shouldn't be a question for those who make
the choice to live in wide-open spaces, especially when we are making
new, amazing technological advances on a daily basis.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation and ensure
that those in South Dakota and rural areas across the country can rely
on their phone calls going through.
Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this is a good
piece of legislation, and I hope all Members will vote for it when it
comes to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

{time} 1230

Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, the House should pass this legislation
unanimously. We are one country: urban, suburban, and rural, and this
will help rural America.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Burgess). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 96.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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