Klobuchar’s bipartisan measures would require manufacturers of multi-line telephone systems to create systems that allow carriers to reach 9-1-1 without a prefix or postfix, direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish basic quality standards for providers that transmit voice calls to help ensure businesses, families, and emergency responders can count on phone calls being completed, and crack down on scam artists who falsify their Caller ID information to trick unsuspecting victims 

Klobuchar also successfully included two of her provisions to help meet spectrum needs and streamline broadband infrastructure deployment into the Mobile Now Act

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today announced that several of her measures to improve 21st century communications have passed the Senate Commerce Committee, paving the way for a full vote in the Senate. Klobuchar’s bipartisan measures would require manufacturers of multi-line telephone systems to create systems that allow carriers to reach 9-1-1 without a prefix or postfix, direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish basic quality standards for providers that transmit voice calls to help ensure businesses, families, and emergency responders can count on phone calls being completed, and crack down on scam artists who falsify their Caller ID information to trick unsuspecting victims. Klobuchar also successfully included two of her provisions to help meet spectrum needs and streamline broadband infrastructure deployment into the Mobile Now Act.

"Communicating in the 21st century should be safe, easy, and efficient. However, when rural calls drop, broadband doesn't exist, 9-1-1 calls don't connect, or scammers can spoof phone numbers, we know we have work to do,” Klobuchar said. “The bipartisan measures that passed the Commerce Committee today are a step in the right direction, and I'm going to keep working to make sure they get a full vote in the Senate."

Kari’s Law that Klobuchar introduced with Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE), Brian Schatz (D-HI), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Thune (R-SD), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) would ensure that anyone dialing 9-1-1 on any phone can reach emergency personnel. The legislation would also require on-site notification to make it easier for first responders to locate 9-1-1 callers in large buildings.

The Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act that Klobuchar introduced with Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Jon Tester (D-MT) would direct the FCC to require intermediate providers that transmit voice calls to register with the agency and establish quality standards for transmitting voice calls. These reforms would ensure small businesses, families, and emergency responders in rural America can rely upon their telephone calls being completed.

The Spoofing Prevention Act that Klobuchar is an original co-sponsor of prohibits callers from altering the phone number or other information displayed on a recipient’s Caller ID. It also directs the FCC to publish information on its website to help consumers protect themselves from so-called “spoofing scams.” Additionally, the legislation calls on the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of the federal government’s efforts to combat the practice of spoofing and identify any additional measures that may be needed.

Klobuchar also successfully included the following bipartisan provisions into the Mobile Now Act:

  • To cut red tape by ensuring that states coordinate highway construction projects with broadband providers so that broadband infrastructure can be installed at the same time—known as “dig once.”
  • To direct the FCC to conduct a rulemaking on opportunities for partitioning or disaggregating spectrum licenses to facilitate leasing unused spectrum to rural and smaller carriers and encouraging collaboration between companies to bridge service gaps in rural areas. 

As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Klobuchar has been a leader in pushing to expand and improve communications infrastructure in rural areas. She is a co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus. In 2013, Klobuchar introduced and passed a resolution through the Senate Commerce Committee urging the FCC to take action to solve the problems with the completion of calls in rural areas, after which the FCC took some preliminary regulatory and enforcement actions to curb the problem. At oversight hearings, she has also put repeated pressure on the FCC to ensure the agency continues to make rural call completion issues a priority.

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