[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6449 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6449
To modify the penalties for violations of the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act of 1993.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 4, 2025
Mr. Kustoff (for himself, Ms. Ross, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr.
Fitzpatrick, Ms. Perez, Mr. Panetta, and Mr. Strong) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To modify the penalties for violations of the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act of 1993.
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 ``Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and
Outrageous Telephone Calls Act of 2025'' or the ``DO NOT Call Act''.
SEC. 2. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION
ACT OF 1993.
(a) Criminal Penalties.--
(1) In general.--Section 227 of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(k) Criminal Penalties.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), any
person who willfully and knowingly violates this section shall
be imprisoned for not more than 1 year, fined under title 18,
United States Code, or both.
``(2) Aggravated offense.--Any person who willfully and
knowingly violates this section shall be imprisoned for not
more than 3 years, fined under title 18, United States Code, or
both if--
``(A) the person has previously been convicted
under this subsection;
``(B) the offense involved initiating more than--
``(i) 100,000 calls in a 24-hour period;
``(ii) 1,000,000 calls in a 30-day period;
or
``(iii) 10,000,000 calls in a 1-year
period;
``(C) the person committed the offense with the
intent to use the calls in furtherance of a felony or
conspiracy to commit a felony; or
``(D) the offense caused loss to 1 or more persons
aggregating $5,000 or more in value during any 1-year
period.
``(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
``(A) the term `call' includes a message or other
communication sent to any North American Numbering Plan
number, including an emergency telephone number, that
is--
``(i) initiated to communicate with or
attempt to communicate with a person by
telephone using an automatic telephone dialing
system or artificial or prerecorded voice; or
``(ii) a text message sent to a mobile
phone using an automatic telephone dialing
system--
``(I) without the prior consent of
the recipient to receive the message;
or
``(II) as an emergency message; and
``(B) the term `initiate', with respect to a call,
includes the act of sending, making, or transmitting
the call.''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--Section
227(e)(5)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
227(e)(5)(B)) is amended, in the second sentence, by striking
``section 501'' and inserting ``subsection (k)''.
(b) Increased Penalties for Provision of Inaccurate Caller
Identification Information.--Section 227(e)(5) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(5)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ``$10,000'' and
inserting ``$20,000''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), in the first sentence, by striking
``$10,000'' and inserting ``$20,000''.
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