Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017
Latest action · Jan 24, 2017 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 11, 2017
- Passed HouseJan 23, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require intermediate providers that offer the capability to transmit voice communications and signaling information from one destination to another, and that charge a rate to any other entity (including an affiliated entity) for such a transmission, to: (1) register with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and (2) comply with service quality standards to be established by the FCC.
An "intermediate provider" is an entity that: (1) enters a business arrangement with a long-distance voice service provider that makes the initial call path choice for more than 100,000 domestic retail subscriber lines, or with another intermediate provider, to carry, route, or transmit voice traffic from a call placed from or to an end user connection using a North American Numbering Plan resource; and (2) does not itself (directly or in conjunction with an affiliate) serve as such a long-distance initial call path choice provider in the context of originating or terminating a given call.
The bill prohibits such long-distance providers (including local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, commercial mobile radio services, interconnected voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP] services, and certain non-interconnected VoIP services) from using an intermediate provider to transmit voice communications and signals unless the intermediate provider is so registered.
The FCC must: (1) ensure the integrity of the transmission of voice communications to all customers in the United States, (2) prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among areas of the United States in the delivery of such voice communications, and (3) make a registry of intermediate providers publicly available on the FCC website.
The bill shall not be construed to preempt or expand the authority of a state agency or public utility commission to collect data, or enforce state law and regulations, regarding the completion of intrastate voice communications.
Certain long-distance providers that make initial call path choices are exempt from service quality standards that the FCC is required to establish under this bill if they certify under a safe harbor provision in existing FCC rules that they monitor the performance of, or do not use, intermediate providers.
Cosponsors 11
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 11, 2017 to Jan 17, 2017; 10 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-UT | Chris Stewart | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| D-IA | David Loebsack | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| R-SD | Kristi L. Noem | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| D-MN | Richard M. Nolan | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| R-OH | Robert E. Latta | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| D-WI | Ron Kind | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| R-WI | Sean P. Duffy | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| R-MO | Blaine Luetkemeyer | Jan 17, 2017 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jan 11, 2017 |
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Jan 24, 2017 |
Actions 8
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 24, 2017Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Jan 23, 2017Mr. Lance moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Jan 23, 2017Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H582-586; H583-586)
- Jan 23, 2017DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 460.
- Jan 23, 2017Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text of measure as passed: CR H582-583; H583-584)
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E150 | Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Feb 6, 2017 |
| House | Debate and remarks H583–H586Text printed H583 | David Young R-IA, Leonard Lance R-NJ, Michael F. Doyle D-PA, Peter Welch D-VT, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Jan 23, 2017 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 7, January 11, 2017, page H392.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 115-48 | OVERSIGHT AND REAUTHORIZATION OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION145 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | Jul 25, 2017 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 96 | Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 | Identical bill | Feb 26, 2018 |
| HR 4986 | RAY BAUM'S Act of 2018 | Related bill | Mar 7, 2018 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 24, 2017Referred in Senate
- Jan 23, 2017Engrossed in House
- Jan 11, 2017Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
