HERE IT IS–The Giant Senate Coronavirus Relief Bill (CARES)–and What It Might Mean for TCPAWorld if/when It Becomes Law

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Both chambers of Congress have been working furiously the last 10 days or so on legislation to help the struggling American people–and the world economy–with the onset of the awful COVID 19 pandemic.

As I reported earlier this week, an early House legislative plan would have crippling effect on collectors–shutting them down entirely during the course of the pandemic.

The final Senate version–which has passed the upper chamber and is likely to be voted on in the House as early as tomorrow–lacks those provisions. (The Senate CARES act is 883 interesting pages long–yes, I read it–and if you want to poke your eyes out you can read it too! It is right here: Cares Final Text )

So good news for TCPAWorld dwellers– CARES contains no restrictions on phone calls, no restrictions on telemarketing (although there are lots of state restrictions so be careful) and no abatement of collection on consumer debt (although, again, watch out for state restrictions.) So while we all have a complicated web of restrictions to manage, at least there is nothing new imposed on callers at the federal level (at least not yet.)

CARES does contain a few interesting provisions impacting consumers, however. For instance foreclosure on federally-backed mortgages would be barred for 60 days, as would eviction of renters living in such homes. And there is some (quite limited) credit reporting protection (FCRAworld.com is coming–I promise!) mandating that furnishers report an account “current” during a timeframe that accommodation payments are being accepted (assuming the account was current before the accomodation.)

Overall the tax stuff in CARES looks to be the most fun–but I’m not tax guy so I won’t dive into that (although Squire Patton Boggs does have a huge team that can answer all of your questions on those topics–happy to connect you.)

So bottom line–if the Senate Coronavirus bill becomes the law it won’t have much impact on the TCPAWorld–which is definitely the best outcome we could have hoped for.

But CARES is NOT yet the law, remember, it has to pass both the Senate and the House before it becomes law. We’ll see if the Democrat-controlled House accepts this version or requires additional “consumer-friendly” provisions.

We’ll keep a close eye on this thing. More to come.

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

3 Comments

  2. Eric, Thank you for posting your opinion and for reading the 883 pages. Appreciate you culling out the impact to the collection industry! Great work.

    Reply
  3. Pingback: We Scare Because We CARES: Huge TCPA/Privacy Cross-Over Covid19 Pandemic Webinar Coming Your Way… [WITH VIDEO TEASER] – TCPAWorld

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