News From Congressman Eliot Engel

Engel Statement on House Passage of Anti-Robocall Legislation

“In these hyper-partisan times there is one thing everyone seems to agree on: robocalls are a terrible nuisance. The TRACED Act is designed to combat unwanted robocalls that pester Americans every day and expose the most vulnerable among us to schemes, scams, and deceptions. If we can get this bill through the Senate and signed into law, this legislation will put a serious dent in the robocall problem as we know it. I am hopeful the Senate will take this up quickly, and once its passed we should turn our focus to some of the other bills aimed at ending abusive phone practices, like my Anti-Swatting Act.”

BACKGROUND:

The TRACED Act:

• Requires carriers to offer call-authentication technology to consumers and small businesses—in rural and urban America—at no additional charge;
• Requires opt-in or opt-out robocall blocking be offered at no additional charge to consumers;
• Gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to step up enforcement actions against unlawful robocalls with a longer statute of limitations and increased fines in certain cases;
• Pushes the Department of Justice to bring more criminal prosecutions against criminal robocallers;
• Requires the FCC to work to stop one-ring scams;
• Helps the FCC and responsible carriers traceback and cutoff suspect phone companies that are responsible for sending vast numbers of unlawful robocalls; and
• Protects patients, doctors and hospitals from unlawful robocalls.

Americans reportedly received an astounding 48 billion robocalls last year, and this number is expected to increase to as high as 75 billion this year. Robocalls are one of the most complained-about issues in the United States. The FCC receives roughly 200,000 complaints each year about robocalls.

Engel has worked for years to stop abusive phone practices. He has introduced legislation to combat swatting—the act of falsifying caller ID information to mislead law enforcement—and is an original cosponsor of the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (H.R. 946), the Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones (ROBOCOP) Act (H.R. 2298), and is a cosponsor of the Regulatory Oversight Barring Obnoxious (ROBO) Calls and Texts Act (H.R. 2355). Engel is a top member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Engel Statement on Reforming FDA Oversight of Cosmetics and Personal Care Products

“It is unacceptable that our nation’s children are exposed to chemicals that have a well-documented history of causing adverse health events”

On December 4, 2019 the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing on modernizing federal oversight of cosmetics and personal care products. Congressman Engel, a top Member of the committee, submitted a statement for the record underscoring the public health need for updated regulations:

“Chairman Pallone and Chairwoman Eshoo thank you for holding today’s hearing on modernizing FDA regulations for cosmetics and personal care products.

“Every day, millions of Americans use these products. According to the Environmental Working Group, women on a daily basis use 12 products containing 168 unique ingredients while men use six products with 85 different ingredients. Even with the widespread use of these products, FDA has been given limited tools and resources to oversee this nearly $80 billion industry.

“The absence of FDA regulation has led to egregious cases of consumer harm. In June of this year, a retailer specializing in cosmetics and personal care products for young women recalled three makeup products because they contained asbestos fibers. Similarly, a large manufacturer recently recalled its baby powder after the FDA found asbestos in it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asbestos exposure can lead to lung diseases and pulmonary cancers.

“It is unacceptable that our nation’s children are exposed to chemicals that have a well-documented history of causing adverse health events. Furthermore, these cases underscore the dire need for modernizing federal oversight of cosmetic and personal care products.

“I commend Chairman Pallone and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky for their work on legislation to reform our nation’s broken regulatory system.”